Is the noise of war driving dolphins north?

Researchers at the Delphis Association are excited by two unusual sightings received within a single day: members of a pod of southern dolphins were unusually spotted off northern Tel Aviv, and a pod of killer whales was seen off the city's shores.

פרט החבר בלהקת הבית הדרומית, בתצפית אתמול. צילום: טליה לביא

Two unusual reports were submitted yesterday to researchers at the Delphis association, which works for marine mammals in Israel. The first report, submitted by Talia Lavie via the SeaWatch app of the Society for the Protection of Nature, told of a sighting of a pod of dolphins off Sea & Sun Beach in Tel Aviv. "At first we saw three individuals from a distance, at a depth of about 25 meters in front of the hotel. Then they came to us and played with Gal Khartoum for about ten minutes," Lavie reported, adding that the three were seen for about half an hour.

Apparently, dolphin sightings off the coast of Tel Aviv are a fairly routine event, except that this time, according to Dr. Aviad Sheinin, director of the Dolphin and Sea Center at Delphis and head of the superpredators department at the Maurice Kahn Marine Research Station at the University of Haifa, the three dolphins are members of the "home pod" - that's the name of the pod of common dolphins that lives permanently in the Avtach Marine Reserve area, between Ashdod and Ashkelon. The pod was last seen on April 8, and there have been no sightings of its members since, until yesterday. Dr. Sheinin noted that the sighting of the pod members off the Tel Aviv-Herzliya border is unusual. "It's not yet clear whether there is a connection between the noise of the war in the south and the dolphins' snarling," he said.

Dr. Aviad Sheinin: The observation of members of the home band off the Tel Aviv-Herzliya coast is unusual

In parallel with the report on the house band, Delphis received another unusual report yesterday, this time about the band Ob Shan Katlani. The report was submitted by Yaakov Solan, a member of the Sailor Yacht Club.

להקת עב שן קטלני, כפי שנצפתה מול חופי תל אביב. צילום: משפחת שהם סולן

Killer whale - genetically close to the killer whale

The False Killer Whale, or Pseudorca crassidens, is a deep-sea dolphin and one of the rarest marine mammals in our region. However, since the coronavirus pandemic, the number of sightings in our area has increased. The last time a group of False Killer Whales was seen was on March 18, off Sidney Ali Beach in Herzliya. This was the first recording of a group of dolphins of this species for 2025.

According to Dr. Sheinin, the killer whale, which is genetically close to the killer whale, is a very impressive dolphin, about six meters long, and it lives in the Indian Ocean, the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean, the coastal strips of the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Baltic Sea. It is considered a very fast and energetic swimmer, and is also able to jump high out of the water. In the wild, it feeds mainly on fish and squid of various sizes. It is a sociable animal, but we must not forget that it is a wild animal after all!

Have you encountered a marine mammal? Delphis researchers remind you what to do:

1. First of all, keep your distance! This is a wild animal, and it should not be disturbed.

2. Take photos (from a distance and without using a flash). It is advisable to take both still and video photos.

3. Report to Delphis at 050-3225227 or here.

4. If the dolphin is spotted on the beach, curious people move away from the spot, take pictures, and call us.