Common Bottlenose Dolphin

Photo: Frank Krasovec · CC BY-NC

A resident pod uses the Diapontia island channels as a foraging corridor, and individuals sometimes approach divers on the reef — particularly juveniles engaging in exploratory behaviour. Underwater encounters are opportunistic and cannot be guaranteed, but surface sightings during surface intervals are a near-daily feature of dives here in summer. The Ionian population is genetically distinct from offshore Mediterranean dolphins and represents an important conservation priority.