Settled habitation Sample Clauses

Settled habitation. There is no reliable information on the existence of resident dolphin schools, although groups and even large herds of foraging animals may stay in some places close to Crimean and Caucasian coasts for a few days to several months. In particular, annually from spring to autumn, bottlenose dolphins form compact accumulations near Tarkhankut peninsula of the Crimea (Zatevakhin and Bel’xxxxxx, 1987, 1996; Bel’xxxxxx and Zatevakhin, 1996) and also in the Kerch Strait and adjacent Black Sea area (Kleinenberg, 1956) with a peak of their presence in the Kerch Strait in June-July (Birkun and Krivokhizhin, 1998, 2000) (Fig. 1). Most sightings in the Bosphorus were recorded in May-June, while in the Marmara Sea – in October (Öztürk and Öztürk, 1997). Four separated accumulations of T. truncatus groups have been observed off the Crimea in June 1995, including the northwestern (around Tarkhankut peninsula), western (between capes Lukull and Khersones), southern (between capes Sarych and Ayudag) and southeastern (between capes Meganom and Ilyi) clusters (Birkun and Krivokhizhin, 2000). In summer 1997 and 1998, bottlenose dolphins were distributed mainly along the south and southeast Crimean coasts. Annual aggregation of dolphin schools during fall and early winter is typical for small delta-shaped area at the south extremity of the Crimea between Balaklava and Foros (Fig. 2).