MARC’s Solitary Dolphins Working Group monitors cases of solitary dolphins around the world. It offers support to relevant stakeholders regarding how to interact with solitary dolphins and how to manage them.
Useful resources in English:
Solitary dolphins in Spain and recommendations for their management by Laetitia Nunny, Mónica González, Alfredo López, Pablo Covelo, Jose Antonio Martínez-Cedeira, Xabier Pin, Uxía Vázquez, María Macías González, Paula San Martín Lorén and Mark P. Simmonds. Article published in 2026 in Animal Behaviour.
Case Report: The ‘dolphin of Venice’: management of a solitary bottlenose dolphin in the Venetian Lagoon by Giovanni Bearzi, Sandro Mazzariol, Luca Mizzan, Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Marco Bonato, Luca Ceolotto and Guido Pietroluongo. Article published in 2026 in Frontiers in Ethology.
Solitary, Sociable Cetaceans webpage by Marine Connection.
A Global Reassessment of Solitary-Sociable Dolphins by Laetitia Nunny and Mark P. Simmonds. Article published in 2019 in Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Deleterious behaviors and risks related to close interactions between humans and free-ranging dolphins: A review by Pamela Carzon, Éric Clua, Kathleen M. Dudzinski and Fabienne Delfour. Article published in 2023 in Biological Conservation.
Marine Mammals Seeking Human Company by Mark P. Simmonds and Laetitia Nunny. Book chapter published in 2022 in the book “Marine Mammals Seeking Human Company” edited by Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara and Bernd Würsig. Publisher: Springer, Cham.
Behavior of a Solitary Sociable Female Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) off the Coast of Kent, Southeast England by Sonja Eisfeld, Mark P. Simmonds and Laura R. Stansfield. Article published in 2010 in Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science.
Managing Human Interactions with Solitary Dolphins by Monika Wilke, Mike Bossley and Wade Doak. Article published in 2005 in Aquatic Mammals.
Solitary Bottlenose Dolphins in Comparative Perspective by Monica Müller and Mike Bossley. Article published in 2002 in Aquatic Mammals.
Useful resources in Spanish:
El precio de nuestro afecto: qué sucede cuando los delfines solitarios se hacen amigos nuestros por Laetitia Nunny. EFE:Verde, 2025.
Photo: A solitary bottlenose dolphin in Galicia, Spain by Laetitia Nunny