Tall Fin May 2024 Update
Tall Fin, fondly referred to as one of the “OGs” aka originals, is dolphin #4 in our catalogue and was one of the first common dolphins we discovered in Port Phillip in 2006.
Tall Fin has been seen in Port Phillip on surveys every year and was most recently seen in February 2024!
He is one of the resident males in our Port Phillip common dolphin community and loves the limelight, often outshining the other dolphins when we are trying to photograph them for ID purposes. We often call him a camera hog when out on the water and typically end up with more photos of him than anyone else!
Whilst we aren’t directly able to track calves related to Tall Fin as we can with their mums, we have witnessed Tall Fin mating with various females in the bay on surveys so it is reasonable to suggest some of the calves born in the bay may be his. We have also seen him what we call “baby-sitting” calves where he will swim alongside young calves for extended periods of time.
He is more often than not seen with the other OGs of the bay including V-Nick, Esther, Poke and Ragged Fin. He is easily recognisable by his very tall and slender dorsal fin which surprisingly has very few nicks and scars on it for a dolphin who is likely more than 20 years of age. Below you can see Tall Fin on the far right with Esther and V-Nick to the left respectively.
We most recently saw Tall Fin off Mornington in February 2024 (below) along with some other well known individuals Esther, Ragged Fin and Poke. He appears to be doing well, with no new visible nicks or scars on his fin or flank.
