The Epic of the Dolphins: Didn’t Leave for 6 Days
Volkan Günel, who works as an instructor and diver in Gökçeada, was wandering around with his boat off the coast of Zeytinburnu one day when two dolphins caught his attention. One of these dolphins was dead, and the other’s attempt to bring it to shore was immortalized with Günel’s mobile phone camera. When these meaningful images were shared on social media, the incident attracted great attention. The moments when the dead dolphin was carried by another dolphin to Yeşilköy Beach for 6 days also resonated in the scientific world. Istanbul University (IU) Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, Marine Biology Department Lecturer and Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TÜDAV) Vice President Assoc. Dr. Arda Tonay stated that this event has become a very important record from a scientific point of view.
Scientific Observations and the Importance of the Event
Assoc. Dr. Tonay said, “This behavior has been recorded in 96 cases in 24 dolphin and whale species in the world’s seas so far. It is a situation encountered for the first time in Turkish seas. In three separate observations, it was determined that the dead dolphin “This is a very interesting record in scientific terms,” he said.
Meaning of Epimeletic Behavior
Assoc. Dr. Tonay said, “An interesting behavior exhibited by a bottlenose dolphin in the Marmara Sea in March was recorded by four separate observers. This behavior refers to a type of cooperation called ‘epimeletic’. Here, another individual helps a living or dead individual.” In our case, the dead individual had been dead for about a day. Another bottlenose dolphin was trying to distract the dead animal from the boats that came to the area by pushing it with its nose or pushing it with its fin in three separate observations. “They moved together from Zeytinburnu to Yeşilköy. The dead dolphin washed ashore on the Avcılar coast approximately 4-5 days later. After the incident, we could not see the other individual showing epimeletic behavior again.”
Notable Observations and Rare Events
Assoc. Dr. Tonay said, “So far, 96 cases of this epimeletic behavior have been observed in 24 dolphin and whale species. Generally, this behavior involves the relationship between the mother and the offspring, except for 7 cases; that is, the mother cannot say goodbye to her offspring after the loss of the offspring. However, only 2 of these cases, It is similar to our observation. It is also very interesting because it happens between two adults. , you encounter a truly heartbreaking situation. The feeling of not being able to do anything at that moment is quite heavy. “We were trying to prevent boats from approaching the region by informing the Security, Maritime Police and Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries Branch. Directorate. “After this incident, which lasted for six days, we published our scientific article and shared it with the world.”
