Some old porpoise footage from Skomer (2013)

 

 Some old porpoise footage from Skomer (2013)

Some porpoise BEHAVIOR

I just re-found this, and thought it might be interesting for anyone interested in Porpoise behaviour and the problems associated with getting relevant counts/abundance:

Here's a link to some footage of porpoises. I filmed  this from the cliffs near the Mew Stone on Skomer Island : http://youtu.be/xC_Bho_DEBY Sadly the definition is not so good but the great thing is that it shows whats happening on the surface but also some of what is happening below the surface which we rarely see ... Seeing the porps under water, it's clear to see how quickly they can manouver and change direction. It shows just how tricky it is or even impossible to count porpoise numbers with any real accuracy from just surface sightings.  One animal may surface and then seem to resurface again when in fact as we can see from the film it is a completely different animal. The first one shoots off surfacing randomly elsewhere whilst others seem to appear from nowhere.

I was amazed at how fast they can suddenly accelerate and swerve, flashing their flanks as if rounding up or disorientating their prey. I am not sure if in this case, its a "team effort" but it looks like it could be..