January does not seem to be a lucky month for dolphins. On the 10th of January HEPCA received a phone call about a dead dolphin found on a beach north of

El Gouna; only a few days after (17th of January) a second call: another dead dolphin has been spotted floating in the narrow channel between El Gouna and the large reef just in front. Thanks to the alert of Emperor Divers and Mr. Lang, the Cetacean Research Team could arrive at both sites before the bodies were decomposed or lost. A general evaluation of the carcasses' conditions was made, followed by a complete necropsy and the sampling of some tissues to carry out further analysis. The animals were identified as a male calf (1.5m long) and a female adult (2.30m long) belonging to the genus Tursiops. In the Red Sea eight species of toothed whales are present and two of these belong to the genus Tursiops: the common bottlenose dolphin (T. truncatus) and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (T. aduncus). Because of its rather small size (adults of T. truncatus are 3.5m long) and its age (determined by the status of the teeth) the adult was positively identified as T. aduncus, while the small size of the baby did not allow the researchers to determine the species. No evident causes of death have been found, suggesting that more reasons might have contributed. Further and more accurate analysis might be able to shed light about this matter. Genetic investigations will also be carried out with the collaboration of the Suez Canal University to identify/confirm the species and to verify the presence of a mother-calf relationship between the two individuals. Please note: if you find a dolphin carcass DO NOT TOUCH IT but report it as soon as possible to the HEPCA office under 065–3445035. The faster the report gets in, the higher are the chances to conduct an accurate examination and to evaluate a possible evidence of bycatch.