The Finless Porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides), known locally as 'bulia' in the Konkan-Goa-North Karnataka region, is a small marine mammal found in shallow, usually inshore coastal waters. Though it may not be actually rare, with some fishermen reporting frequent sightings, these animals are rather hard to see due to their very quick, abrupt surfacings and their very agile, relatively unpredictable movements (compared to dolphins which are much easier to follow through a camera lens). The "finless" back of this species makes it all the more difficult to spot at sea, especially when it gets even a little rough.
The image is not very aesthetically pleasing, but this happens to be the behaviour of this species; properly visible surfacings and leaps are very rare. This was our (my survey volunteers' and my) first sighting of this elusive animal in this region, roughly 5.5 km from shore. We have been fortunate to have had no less than 10 separate sightings, including solitary individuals, pods and a mother-calf pair, all very close to the boat, over the course of the 12 surveys done so far.
Nikon D3100, Nikkor 70-300 ED VR
SS 1/2000
Av 8.0
ISO 400
Cropped
C&C welcome. Observers (especially students) are welcome, do get in touch if you would like to join us for surveys.
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