A dolphin was repeatedly spotted in the Kiel Fjord during the holidays. The animal first appeared near a fireboat during a fire drill in Kiel-Holtenau. The firefighters kept the encounter in a video. Passers-by later reported that they had seen the dolphin several times along the western shore of Kiel and in front of the lock gates in Kiel-Holtenau. This is clear from a Report of the Kieler Nachrichten out.
The animal has been seen repeatedly at the Holtenau pilot station since 22 December. It is not yet clear whether the dolphin is the "Delle" that is often seen off Travemünde. However, this would not be unlikely, as the animal has been seen alternately in Kiel and Travemünde in recent years.
More on the topic:
Dolphin or harbour porpoise? Size matters
Dolphins are not normally at home in the Baltic Sea, while harbour porpoises are more common in the western Baltic Sea. Sometimes they also swim alongside sailing boats, but with a body length of around 1.50 metres, they are significantly smaller than dolphins. Bottlenose dolphins, the most widespread dolphin species, reach lengths of between 1.90 and 4 metres.
There have been regular dolphin sightings in the Kiel Fjord and the Bay of Lübeck since 2016. In spring 2023, for example, "Delle" fascinated onlookers for several weeks with jumps in the harbour entrance to Travemünde. Harbour porpoises that follow schools of fish are also welcome guests. Two to three harbour porpoises were also spotted off the Schwentine estuary and at the naval base during the holidays.
In the YACHT interview, Professor Boris Culik from the Geomar Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel explains why dolphins are often found close to the coast:
