Moon’s Mystery Lump
In April, resident dolphin Moon, was observed with a large lump on her back.
Dolphin Watch volunteer, Sue Harper, first noticed the lump while taking photos of the dolphin and her previous calf Nganga (who is a now a juvenile). Sue had seen Moon 10 days earlier without the lump, which means the lump grew remarkably large in a short period of time. Given how quickly the lump appeared, the hypothesis is that Moon may have been stung by a ray barb, as a similar situation was documented in Adelaide a while ago. However, the exact cause of the lump still remains unclear. A call to the Dolphin Watch volunteers and the public was very successful in locating Moon and obtaining more photos and videos to assess her condition. Despite the lump, Moon was regularly seen foraging and feeding, often accompanied by her youngest calf, Nganga.
With help from volunteers, we were able to keep track of Moon over the next few weeks and we are very happy to report that the lump has significantly reduced in size! Sue Harper photographed Moon again early June, noting the lump was much smaller. Dr Delphine Chabanne saw Moon just a few days later, and confirmed the lump has decreased in size and Moon appears healthy.
