Further Evidence for Breeding White-Beaked Dolphin (<i>Lagenorhynchus albirostris</i>) in Inner Danish Waters

Abstract

The white-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) is the second most frequently stranded cetacean species along the Danish coastline. The northern North Sea, the Skagerrak, the Kattegat and the Danish straits are part of the species distributional range. Here, we present eight incidents of breeding activity for the white-beaked dolphin in the inner Danish waters, reviewed from yearly reports made by the National Contingency Plan concerning strandings of marine mammals in Denmark from 2009 to 2023, Danish Wildlife Diseases Surveillance reports from 2014 to 2023 and the citizen science database Naturbasen in the period 2002 to 2023. Three pregnant females, three lactating females and one calf were found stranded in the inner Danish waters. Besides this, there have been live sightings of a female with a newborn calf. We conclude that the white-beaked dolphin is breeding in the inner Danish waters.

Keywords

• strandings
• cetacean
• Danish waters
• Delphinidae
• Odontoceti
• reproduction