Solitary dolphins are interesting characters who, in some circumstances, attract a lot of attention. For those which end up spending a lot of time close to humans, interacting with us and hanging out near boats and in other dangerous situations, the results can be deadly. I became particularly interested in the case of a bottlenose dolphin in Galicia, Spain who was known as Confi. I even visited him a couple of years ago and I stayed in regular contact with the people monitoring him. This interest led to a group of us writing a paper about Confi and others like him and how we can better protect them. We weren’t able to save Confi, he died seemingly from a propeller injury in June 2025, but perhaps we can protect future solitary dolphins.
Our paper is available here and the highlights from it state:
- Seventeen solitary bottlenose dolphins have been recorded in Spain since 1970.
- Management plans are needed to protect solitary dolphins.
- Educating the public is essential to keep people and dolphins safe.
- It is important to prevent a solitary dolphin becoming a solitary-sociable dolphin.
Confi the solitary bottlenose dolphin, Galicia, June 2023. Photo by: Laetitia Nunny
