Did You Know?

Bottlenosed dolphins eat around 15 kilograms of food every day including a wide variety of different fish species, octopus and squid.

Gone Fishing!

Passengers often ask us where we are going to find the dolphins and do they swim through the marina and canal systems and the answer is yes! It is not uncommon for dolphins to be found in the canals and are usually looking a food, which could be a number of different types of fish and even octopus. The dolphins are very smart and know that if they chase the fish along the rock wall at great speeds the fish will get confused and they can trap them against the walls of the canals. They will also slap the water with their tails to stun the fish or blow bubbles to scare them.

Dolphins often work together in pods or even join in with other pods when there are large numbers of fish in one area. They circle the fish and round them up then charge in and grab the fish, they can be quite quick and very exciting to watch. Dolphins however can only swallow food they can not chew it first so most of the fish they catch is small enough to swallow whole, however we often see dolphins swimming along with a large salmon, cobbler or octopus which gets thrown into the air a number of times in hopes of ripping it apart.

Mandurahs dolphins are 100% wild and we would like to keep them this way, we do not encourage them with food or toys and they are free to come and go as they like. Dolphins are more then capable to find food themselves so please remember that if you do see dolphins do not feed them, and it is always nice to know that they choose to interact with our vessels of their own free will.

If you would like to see Mandurah's friendly dolphins

Ph: +61 89581 1242

Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au

Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bouvardcruises

Making a Splash!

Alot has been happening in beautiful Mandurah since our last blog. The dolphins have been very active in the last few weeks and we have been seeing larger numbers of dolphins recently. Newest member to our crew Alex, skipper onboard "Super Cat" was recently welcomed by the dolphins with a big splash! A pod of 4 dolphins showed both skipper and passengers how its done in Mandurah, jumping right out of the water wetting all onboard, including Kat our deckie who got so wet she had to borrow a jumper to keep warm while hers hung out to dry.

Nikky is also back in town after being missing for a number of weeks, this is not unusual for Nikky at this time of year as she often disappears for weeks at a time then returns again. Another of our favourite dolphins White Spot has been seen around the estuary in recent weeks, and as one of Mandurahs best jumpers he did not disappoint on his last visit. White Spot was seen at the start of the cruise near the Ocean Marina with his pod of 6, with lastest member a small calf, they then joined us on the other side of the estuary at the entrance to the canals and chased the "Super Cat" all the way into the entry of the Peel Inlet. The calf joined in the fun not quite sure what to do but the adults were putting on a great show leaping out of the water, 3 dolphins on either side of the boat it was hard to know where to look with all the excitment.

"Dancing Dolphin" hasnt missed out either, with pods of dolphins playing on the bow waves and catching large Octopus and Cobblers and showing passengers by throwing them into the air. Julie and Coel onboard "Dancing Dolphin" have been really lucky last week spending time with a pod of dolphins with two small calves, as the mothers showed them how to ride the bow wave and having some fun themselves by rolling, twirling and swimming upside down.

Remember to send us your baby names for our baby naming competition! To do this follow the link to our facebook page www.facebook.com/bouvardcruises

If you would like to see Mandurahs friendly dolphins
Ph: +61 89581 1242

Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au

Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

Name Our Baby Dolphin Competition

In recent months there has been a baby boom in Mandurah’s Dolphin population with at least 4 new baby dolphins born since Christmas. To celebrate this fantastic population boom with Mandurah’s dolphins we are going to hold a naming contest for the latest baby dolphin who arrived only 4 weeks ago.

The contest is open to everyone and we are putting up a fantastic prize to whoever comes up with the winning name.

The person that comes up with the winning name will win a fantastic “Stay and Play” Holiday package for 2 people for 2 nights in Mandurah which includes the following:

• Comfort Inn Crest Mandurah 3 star motel and apartment style family accommodation with pool, heated spa and tennis court.

• Bouvard Cruises 1 hour Dolphin and Scenic Canal Cruise where you will get the chance to see Mandurah’s newest baby dolphin that you named.

• Lunch at Mandurah’s award winning The Miami Bakehouse situated right on the waterfront in the centre of Mandurah.

• Dinner at Han’s Cafe where you can enjoy authentic Asian cuisine located on the Boardwalk with stunning views overlooking Mandurah’s waterways.

For more info on the prize and the businesses involved visit the Mandurah Stay and Play website www.StayAndPlay.MandurahWA.com.au

To enter the contest simply visit our Facebook page and make a posting with your name for the baby dolphin. We will then narrow the names down to 4 or 5 favourites which we will then put out to everyone in a poll to find the most popular.

The winner will then be announced.

Here is the link to our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/bouvardcruises

Get your names in before 5pm on Friday 14th May.

Here are a couple of facts that we know about the baby dolphin that may help you come up with a name. We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet but it was born on the 3rd March 2010 in the shallow waters of Mandjar Bay right in the centre of Mandurah. It is already an accomplished wake surfer being taught how to surf and jump by it’s mother’s on a number of occasions.

If you would like to see Mandurah’s baby dolphins Bouvard Cruises can take your there. Call 08 9581 1242 or visit the website www.bouvardcruises.com.au

Zen's first dolphin

Last week 19 month old Zen visited Mandurah with his family including his Grandparents - Janis & Barry from the UK.
Zen saw his first dolphin jumping in the wash of "SuperCat" near the New Mandurah Traffic Bridge. The young dolphin followed "SuperCat" for about 10 minutes and put on a fantastic display for all passengers onboard.

Meet the Family!

We have been seeing good numbers of dolphins travelling through the Mandurah waterways in the past few weeks and they have been very playful often playing near the boat, in the wake or one of their favourite games is to play with seaweed where they put the seaweed on their dorsal fin then onto the tail and flick it to their mate. Feeding time is also fun to watch as the dolphins can be very quick chasing fish, one dolphin was seen with a large cobbler in its mouth and was throwing it in the air and going to get it again possibly breaking it into smaller peices, another was found in the canals with an octopus and was also throwing it around.

The dolphins have been keeping pretty busy with the arrival of the newest members to the family the very cute dolphin calves. The lastest arrival only being 3 weeks old and already playing in the wake of our boats. At just one week old we got our first look at the newest arrival who is yet to be named. The calf joined in the fun playing around our boats with its pod (even though it wasn't quite sure what to do). We saw the same pod a week later and they once again played with the boats showing off the calves, we believe that they are introducing them to the waterways and teaching them all the skills they will need. Everyone onboard has enjoyed meeting the new arrivals and have all commented on how cute they are.

If you would like to meet Mandurah's friendly dolphins

Ph: +61 89581 1242
Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au
Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

1st Baby Dolphin Photo

Here is the first photo of Mandurah's newest baby dolphin. It's been swimming strong and has plenty of support from it's pod.

Put your thinking caps on because very shortly (just organising some cool prizes) we are going to be holding a competition to come up with a name for the baby dolphin.

Stay tuned for more information coming soon.