Turkish scientists study rare dolphin vigil in Marmara Sea

ISTANBUL

A Turkish research team has documented an extraordinary case of an adult dolphin exhibiting profound attachment by remaining beside a deceased companion for six consecutive days, eventually guiding the lifeless body to shore.

Volkan Günel, an experienced instructor and diver, was navigating the waters off Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu when he spotted the pair. Günel recorded the poignant moment when the deceased dolphin was being escorted to the shore by another dolphin, capturing the footage on his mobile phone and sharing it on social media. This act spurred three other individuals to share their own recordings of the same incident.

This incident, which was seen for the first time in Turkish seas, was featured in the "Journal of the Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment," a scientific periodical published by the Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TÜDAV) for over 30 years.

"An interesting behavior of a bottlenose dolphin in the Marmara Sea in March was recorded with the observation of four different citizens. This behavior, known scientifically as epimeletic, refers to the act of one individual assisting or attempting to protect another, whether alive or deceased," explained Arda Tonay, the vice president of TÜDAV.

"In our case, the deceased dolphin was a male that had likely been dead for more than a day. A fellow dolphin remained vigilantly by its side, using its beak or fin to steer the body away from any approaching boats, thereby trying to distance it from human interference," Tonay explained.

According to scientific data, this type of behavior has been recorded only 96 times across 24 species of dolphins and whales worldwide, he said.

"Across three separate observations, it was noted that the dolphin did not leave the deceased’s side for at least six days. They drifted together from Zeytinburnu to Yeşilköy. This was an extraordinarily fascinating record in the realm of scientific inquiry.”

However, Tonay pointed out that, in many instances worldwide, this behavior typically occurs between a mother and her dead calf, often as a manifestation of the mother’s inability to part with her offspring.

In contrast, the event in the Marmara Sea involved two adult marine mammals, making it a far rarer occurrence from a scientific standpoint.

The Bosphorus, a vital marine corridor, is home to three dolphin species: the bottlenose dolphin, the common dolphin and the harbor porpoise. Additionally, the waters surrounding the Dilek Peninsula, recognized as one of the world's unique natural habitats and forming part of the Dilek Peninsula-Büyük Menderes Delta National Park, also host three dolphin species year-round.