Marine wildlife miracle Spirtle appears to have taken up residence off the Kerry coast if the many sightings over recent weeks are anything to go by.
Last month the young dolphin was spotted in the area some weeks after she was seen off the East Coast, headed south from her usual haunt off the west of Scotland.
Indeed, it was there where she live stranded in 2016 and suffered severe sunburn, which left her with her distinctive markings.
Despite fears that she wouldn’t survive her ordeal, Spirtle returned to fine health and is now part of a small pod regularly feeding off Feit in Tralee Bay, and which includes a juvenile, according to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG).
Researchers are now trying to establish if Spirtle became part of this group after her long travels, or whether they swam with her from Scotland.
Initial evidence suggests at least two of her pod are Scottish regulars, including Spirtle’s own mother Porridge.
“We have documented movements of individual bottlenose dolphins between Ireland and Scotland before, but we do not know how often this occurs or whether it is typical behaviour,” the IWDG said.
“We hope to continue to monitor the presence of this famous ‘Scottish’ dolphin and see if she stays or travels further,” the group added.
