Dolphin researcher observes, protects a growing family near John's Pass

By Emily Nipps, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Monday, January 24, 2011
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A 2-year-old bottlenose dolphin, named Juno by animal behaviorist Ann Weaver, leaps into the air, inviting another dolphin to play. The dolphins near John’s Pass Bridge appear to recognize Weaver, who has studied dolphins around the world.

(Carrie Pratt/Times Photo)

Ann Weaver records data during a dolphin study Saturday morning as her husband, John Heidemann, captains the boat. Her study will be filed with the U.S. government.

[Photo by ANN WEAVER]

Slash, left, and her calf, Scarface, swim together. Slash’s name refers to the notch in her dorsal fin, and Scarface is named for a scar on his head that resulted from a run-in with a shark.

She never touches them or helps them.
"A good scientist would never do that," she said.
Even when Juno got tangled up in fishing line, which dug into a fin, Weaver would only take notes. She was both fascinated and relieved when he showed up one day, free of the wire.
Weaver says she has identified 255 dolphins near John’s Pass Bridge. She’s learned their personalities and calls them her kids.

Weaver was devastated when Split had a baby and then watched the baby die the next day. Split pushed the dead baby around for a week, keeping other dolphins away. Then Split went into a depression and got dolphin pox before snapping out of it a year later.