WA: Dolphins give birth at popular Monkey Mia

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WA: Dolphins give birth at popular Monkey Mia

PERTH, Dec 11 AAP - The famous pod of dolphins at Monkey Mia in Western Australia isundergoing a population explosion.

Two of the dolphins have given birth in the past few days and a third is expecting its calf soon.

The dolphins are popular with visitors to the remote world heritage listed area, swimmingin close to the beach where they are often hand-fed.

First to give birth on December 6 was Tuck, followed two days later by Nicky. The dolphinnamed Surprise is expected to give birth any time.

WA's Department of Conservation and Land Management said it was the first time thedolphins, which regularly come close to the beach at the world heritage-listed area, havecalved within a short time of each other.

Department district manager David Rose said the three new arrivals would provide anew experience for visitors to the region during the Christmas holidays.

"The births mean that some of the interaction experiences at Monkey Mia may be changedover the next few weeks," Mr Rose said.

"Dolphin calves are totally dependent on their mothers and need to be constantly movingduring their first few weeks of life.

"Consequently, the new mothers will be fed only by the department's staff who supervisethe feeding program.

"Visitors will be asked to stay out of the water whenever a mother and calf visit the beach."

Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) calves are usually born a year after theirparents mate, and are about one metre long.

The two newborn dolphins have yet to be named.

AAP kv/ph/ldj/sp/sb

KEYWORD: DOLPHINS