Scarface of the Sea: the Risso’s Dolphin

Marks on their bodies,
Coded secrets from the sea,
Risso’s dolphin’s runes.

Before my encounter with Risso’s dolphins, I had only vaguely heard of them, probably from reading lists of marine mammals seen on whale watching trips. Our whale watching boat motored parallel to the movement of a large pod of these dolphin’s as they headed toward their unknown destination. The naturalist on board judged that there were between 100-150 animals in this pod, based on the number on the surface. Most dolphins are underwater at any given moment so the surface tally is multiplied by four.

These cetaceans sped along, arching and spouting with pronounced dorsal fins, before diving into deeper water. There was no frolicking or leaping out of the sea so we never got a glimpse of the whole animal. Risso’s have blunt heads similar to pilot whales to whom they are related or to beluga whales, to whom they are not. No beaks or bottlenoses here. Their colors vary from dark gray to white, gradually getting whiter with age starting from the head. One of the first ones we saw was almost entirely white, an elder of the community.

A peculiar thing about them is that their skin is inscribed with the history of their interactions, as if their bodies are chalkboards for secret messages. These are called rake marks, scars usually made by other dolphin’s teeth when at play or when fighting. Some wounds are created by their favorite prey: squid. Cetaceous calligraphy, reminiscent of Chinese brush strokes or ancient Nordic runes.

Risso’s dolphins roam the temperate and tropical oceans of the world but are usually only seen far out to sea in the vast open ocean. You are likely never to see one unless you take a boat trip searching for them. They die quickly in captivity without their social connections and the inability to dive into the deep.

They are wild poets of the sea, drawn to twilight depths, marked by time, and bound in kinship.

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