Photo: Mario DusparaStriped dolphin in Adriatic Sea at the shores of the Pelješac Island delighted a family of tourists heading to the beach
The incredibly clear blue waters off the coast of Croatia offers the perfect setting to see dolphins in their natural habitat, playing and jumping, swimming alongside boats, or simply doing their own thing nearby.
But you don't often see a dolphin swimming straight to the shore for some close contact with surprised tourists.
Croatia’s chunk of the Adriatic has about 220 bottlenose dolphins left in its stock.
One such encounter happened near Orebić, the windsurfing paradise located on the Pelješac peninsula in the southern part of the Croatian Adriatic coast.
Playful marine mammal saw the family of tourists heading to the beach and decided to surprise them with a close encounter. After a brief rendezvous, it headed to the open sea near the town of Korčula.
As footage of whales and dolphins in the Adriatic goes viral on the Internet, an expert says claims that nature is recovering during the pandemic are almost certainly correct – because maritime traffic has been drastically reduced.
Dolphins are found in many parts of the Adriatic, but the best place to see them is in the area surrounding the islands of Cres and Losinj, and slightly further north around the Istrian resort of Poreč.
Dolphins in Croatian Adriatic are under legal protection since 1995.
In Croatia, dolphin watching boat-trips are frequently rewarded with sightings of the delightfully intelligent bottlenose dolphin, and, following conservation efforts, there’s also a possibility of seeing the rarer common dolphin.
Photo: Mario DusparaPelješac Peninsula and Korčula island are well known amongst the windsurfing community
Dolphins travel around in pods and seem to take great joy in swimming alongside boats and ships, sometimes even jumping out of the water. Croatia’s chunk of the Adriatic has about 220 bottlenose dolphins left in its stock. Numbers used to be greater, but now dolphins in Croatian Adriatic are under legal protection since 1995. and their numbers will hopefully rise again.
You can volunteer or even symbolically adopt a dolphin in Croatia to help preserve them
Although dolphins in Croatia are a part of the tourism promotion, it is important to emphasize that it is prohibited to disturb, sail beside or swim with them.
If you wish to participate in activities related to the research and protection of dolphins, Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation allows you to participate in their program as a volunteer and you can even symbolically adopt a dolphin, and thus further contribute to their conservation.
