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Jean-Floch update

12th August 2003

Finally we have managed to put together some more information about the dolphin known as Jean-Floch, whose residency in Brittany dates back nearly a year now. Not an Irish dolphin maybe, but certainly a Celtic one and of particular interest to us on account of his interaction with Dony while their range overlapped.
The very first observations of this dolphin, apparently a young male, go back to September 2002 when he was seen following boats in the area around Pointe du Raz and Cap Sizun at the southern end of the Bay of Douarnenez in Finistère, Brittany. Since then he has become well known for his tendency, shared with Dony and other solo dolphins, of following small boats with his beak dangerously close to their propellers. Also like Dony, Jean-Floch is a small dolphin, estimated at 2.3m – 2.5m long, and is well identified by certain scars, though in general he is much less scarred than Dony and seemingly a little bigger.


As far as we know Jean-Floch started interacting with swimmers in March 2003. Interactions have taken place mainly at two small ports, la Pointe de Brézellec and l’Anse de Vorlène, which are a few kilometres apart. Interestingly it was at l’Anse de Vorlène that the famous Breton dolphin JeanLouis was mainly seen in the 1980’s. However Jean-Floch does like to follow fishing boats around, and he has been sighted at many other harbours in the Bay of Douarnenez including Camaret and Audierne during March and Morgat, and Argenton and Tréboul in July. It was off Pen-Harn point that Jean-Floch’s only recorded meeting with Dony took place, on 15th March 2003; apparently the two played together! During May and June Jean-Floch was mainly seen at Brézellec and it was here that most of his interactions with snorkellers took place. One local couple in particular – Fréderic and Anne Quemener - got into swimming with Jean-Floch whenever possible and they reckon to have swum with about 4 times a week over a 4-month period. Although Fred had been a keen surfer, neither he nor Anne had previously had much interest in dolphins and both feel that their lives have been changed in some ways by their contact with Jean-Floch. For one couple at least, the dolphin has truly been an ambassador for his species and has raised awareness of marine issues with people who are well placed to spread the word amongst their fellow-humans – as Anne works in the local tourist office at Audierne! The dolphin seems to have formed a special bond with Fred and to have preferred interacting with him to the exclusion of other swimmers. At times they have played together for up to three hours, and it is usually Fred who has had to retire exhausted from the water rather than the dolphin losing interest. In that case, or if the dolphin didn’t come in to greet him when he rattled and anchor chain, Fred would often continue to observe from the shore, sometimes for as long as 6 hours. During their games together, Jean-Floch would often jump over Fred’s head, passing close between his legs in between leaps – rather like Fungie.

Other behaviours observed include biting fins (like Dony would), imitating human sounds (Dony has also done this) and spectacular defecation when excited, something we have also observed with most other solo dolphins. Something we have not seen elsewhere, however, is Jean-Floch’s interest in mooring ropes. He would often rub himself against these and even wrap them around his tailstock. Sometimes he would have his penis erect in this situation, which was then interpreted as masturbation. We reserve judgment on this, not having seen it for ourselves!

As well as Frederic and Anne, Jean-Floch has had other regular companions and many other people have reported intensive interactions with Jean-Floch. Like Dusty, he would share himself between as many as 10 or 15 swimmers at a time, saying a hello to everybody in the water, especially if none of his favourite regulars was around. This playful dolphin would swim fast and spin around people, turning somersaults and putting on a real show when in the mood – perhaps reminiscent of Fungie in his heyday. But he would also approach close enough to touch, and loved to be stroked, even by non-regulars, much more like Dusty or Dony.

In the middle of June we received alarming reports that Jean-Floch had been attacked and, it was first thought, actually killed by some local fishermen, who were supposedly jealous of the attention the dolphins was attracting from tourists. Apparently in this area as in many other parts of the world there is some history of animosity between the fishing community and environmentalists or conservationists, amongst whom dolphin-lovers might well be numbered. We were relieved when Jean-Floch was later seen alive and also to learn that the incident of violence, which had taken place at the beginning of June, was an isolated one instigated by a single fisherman known to be a drunkard. Nevertheless the fact remains that the dolphin was beaten violently (with a wooden oar) and certainly hurt, even if he recovered from his injuries. Apparently there were witnesses (who would not make a public statement) and the identity of the perpetrator was well known locally, but no-one was prosecuted or even investigated by the authorities. This is reminiscent of the situation in Dingle where every few years some local ‘fishermen’ (usually the ones who spend more time in the pub than actually at sea) take it into their heads to head out to the islands while the seals are pupping and batter to death as many pups as they can find on the beach; everyone knows who it was, but nothing is done about the flagrant breach of the law.

Despite the attack on him, after two weeks of absence, Jean-Floch reappeared, and during the rest of June, started increasingly following fishing boats out of the harbour at Brézellec, staying on the fishing grounds all day, and returning to port with the last boat to spend the night in the harbour area. Truly a determined ambassador for non-violent communication!

The last sightings of Jean-Floch in the Bay of Douarnenez were around the middle of July. We have no idea whether he is gone for good or whether he will turn up again in the same area or somewhere else.

Let us know if you can add to this account! The questions we have so far not managed to get answers to include: How did he get his name? Did he interact with people at other places apart from those mentioned above? Roughly how many people swam with him? Did he ever open his mouth and/or snap his teeth, like Dony does often and Dusty sometimes? Did his behaviour appear sexual towards human beings, as with Dony, or was it only with inanimate objects that he played? Did anyone see any tooth rake marks? If so, how often (if at all) did he pick up fresh ones? Did his behaviour with swimmers change after the attack? If you can help, please e-mail the editor

Date Posted: 12/08/2003
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