A dolphin instantly recognisable due to its distinctive sunburn marks has been spotted in the Moray Firth.
Spirtle is popular among local wildlife spotters, who were delighted to hear from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) team that she had been seen at Chanonry Point.
The dolphin languished for hours on Nigg Bay until she was spotted by a passing motorist in May 2016.
By then, she was blistered and suffering in the sun and it took a team around 10 hours to get her back in the water.
Her right side was severely burned all the way down to its blubber layer, and Spirtle was given a 50/50 chance of survival.
But since then, she has delighted fans by frequently returning to the area – and yesterday she and her friends were spotted at Chanonry Point.
A WDC volunteer captured an image of Spirtle swimming with her pod and reported seeing 12 dolphins.
A spokesman said: “Spirtle, the sunburnt dolphin seems to have returned with her family for Christmas after a summer away living off the west coast of Ireland.
“Spirtle’s mum, Porridge was spotted on Monday by volunteers from WDC’s Shorewatch team, and yesterday a bigger group (around 12 dolphins) including Spirtle were seen, large as life and looking in great shape. 2019 has been a very unusual year for this dolphin population’s movements around the UK and overseas to the Dutch coast – it might not be quite finished yet.”
