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PROGRAMME INFO |
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Nature offers a window on global natural history. Each week Mark Carwardine rubs shoulders with animals and experts, providing a unique insight into the natural world, the environment, and the magnificent creatures that inhabit it.
nhuradio@bbc.co.uk |
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LISTEN AGAIN 30 min |
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PRESENTER |
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"What I enjoy most about Nature is the incredible variety of subjects. One week we could be fishing for zooplankton off the coast of Iceland and the next we could be hunting for fossils in Dorset. We're also very fortunate in meeting many of the world's experts - all of whom are really passionate about their subjects. It's good being able to bring all of these experiences into one programme that truly explores the natural world."
Mark Carwardine |
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PROGRAMME DETAILS |
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Bottlenose Dolphins of the Moray Firth
Mark Carwardine blows the myth that seeing dolphins involves travelling thousands of miles to an exotic foreign location, as he visits the 130 strong population of bottlenose dolphins which live off the North East of Scotland in the Moray Firth. These have been intensively studied since the late 1980s by researchers from the University of Aberdeen's Lighthouse Field Station based at Cromarty.
Going out in their rigid hull research boat, Mark joins in with the photo identification of dolphins 120 & 551, finding out about their social grouping, behaviour and feeding preferences as well as eavesdropping on their secret underwater world. The distinctive clicks that bottlenose dolphins make, as they echolocate to build up a sound picture of their surroundings, are well known. But only in the last few years has it been discovered that they each have their own individual signature whistle, which they use in much the same way as we use short wave radio - and also a special feeding call which sounds just like a donkey braying.
Predominantly blue grey in colour, bottlenose dolphins are the extroverts of the animal world. They spend their time bow riding in the pressure waves of passing boats, making them appear a world apart from other top predators, indeed more akin to humans than other animals. Yet it has recently been discovered that this agile, graceful, fun loving animal holds a darker side, as evidence grows that they are beating up the local harbour porpoises.
The Moray Firth bottlenose dolphins draw thousands of tourists to the area every year. This has led to cruise boat operators, local businesses councils, individuals and local conservation bodies joining together in the Moray Firth Partnership to safeguard their future. |
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RELATED LINKS
Research at Lighthouse Field Station, University of Aberdeen
Good vantage points to see dolphins in the Moray Firth
Moray Firth Wildlife Centre, Spey Bay
Moray Firth Partnership
BBC Nature: Wildfacts - Bottlenose Dolphins
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