Hi,I was wondering if anyone on the network could help me with something I witnessed today. I have been researching harbour porpoises of the Cornish coast in the south west of the UK for 10 years and saw a first today. While out surveying we came across a mother and calf. The calf was surfacing vertically with great effort and chin slapping at every surface. It also appeared to move fairly erratically with frequent direction changes. Having watched a you tube video that shows a porpoise birth in a pool - Harbor Porpoise Birth . The surfacing and swimming of the animal we witnessed seemed very similar. My main question is how long do new born calves exhibit this vertical surfacing behaviour and lack of control for? My assumption is that this calf could have been new born and at most hours old. I'd be grateful for any information with regard to this and to hear from anyone who has witnessed this in wild porpoises. We often wondered where the porpoises we observe go to calve and I'm wondering if I have finally had a glimpse at the beginning of an answer to this question. We do regularly see mothers and calves. Thank you in advance for any helpful repliesDuncan | | | | | | | | | | | Harbor Porpoise Birth | | | | View on www.youtube.com | Preview by Yahoo | | | | |
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