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NATURE'S DELIVERY ROOM

This taken out of O.C. Register, 10-6-96 the Metro section.

BOTTLENOSE BIRTHING
Bottlenose dolphins - one of the most plentiful marine mammals off Orange County - often seek shallow water to give birth. That allows the mother and her newborn to quickly pop to the surface for air. This may be why they prefer Crystal Cove as a birthing ground. It has shallow water that also limits access by predatory sharks. And the cove, at times, offers shelter from big waves. There are also lots of fish for pregnant dolphins to eat. While giving birth, the mother may be attended by a companion of dolphin, known as an aunt, who helps with the delivery and also in caring for the baby in months to come. Here are the three typical steps in the birthing process.
A dolphin’s birth can take several hours. Typically, the animal is born tail first so the blowhole emerges last, ensuring the baby does no drown. With a quick twist, the mother is usually able to break the umbilical cord. The newborn has no air in its lungs, so it begins to sink. The baby is nudged toward the surface, where its blowhole automatically opens and it takes its first breath.
Biologist Dennis Kelly says dolphins who circle a pregnant female may do so largely out of curiosity. It’s also possible that they are helping to shield the mother from predators.

SCIENCE:: A biologist says Crystal Cove may be a dolphin birthing ground. Now he’s trying to prove it. By Gray Robbins; Just beyond where the waves break, a bottlenose dolphin rose to the ocean’s surface and floated on its side, Almost immediately, a half-dozen other dolphins appeared and slowly circled the animal while drifting in the currents.
NEWS FOCUS: Retiree Peggy Ogden noticed the odd gathering from her cottage in Crystal Cove’s historic district and was transfixed: “They looked like a little family out there. At one point, I thought I saw a baby dolphin join them. Maybe I was dreaming.”

WYLAND'S SEA MAMMAL PICTURES