I Thought It Was a Ghost Net... A Mother Dolphin Carrying Her Dead Calf

Similar Cases Observed in March and May as Well

A mother dolphin carrying her dead calf on her back was spotted off the coast of Jeju.

According to Seogwipo Maritime Police Station on the 16th, a report was received around noon the previous day about a dolphin caught in what appeared to be a ghost net off the coast of Mureung-ri, Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo-si, Jeju.

A bottlenose dolphin carrying a dead calf on its back was captured swimming off the coast of Jeju. Photo by Seogwipo Coast Guard, Yonhap News.

When police officers who arrived at the scene entered the water to cut the ghost net, they found that it was not a ghost net but a Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin carrying a dolphin carcass between its back and pectoral fins as it moved.

It was reported that when the police approached, the dolphin moved the dead calf around to prevent it from being taken away.

A Risso's dolphin carrying a dead calf on its back was captured swimming off the coast of Jeju. Photo by Seogwipo Coast Guard, Yonhap News.

The dolphin carcass being carried was identified as an Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin about 1 meter in length.

After consulting with a whale research team, the maritime police confirmed that the carcass carried on the back was likely a dead calf dolphin. The research team also said they had previously found dolphins carrying recently deceased calves in March and May.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.