Bunbury now has an official dolphin tourist season, and a Festival this weekend to declare it open.
Various dolphins have become regular recipients of handouts in Koombana Bay, and in return for tolerating the proximity of the smelly feet of dozens of tourists each year, gain a supplement to their otherwise diminishing diet in the form of a handful of dead herring each. Each year they run the gauntlet of pleasure craft propellers and storm drain detritus to snatch a few extra calories from the hands of volunteers on an otherwise fished out coastline.
Touted as Bunbury’s friendly dolphins, they set their own limits as to the level of interaction they will tolerate from tourists, and as some less than respectful visitors have noted, being hit by a disgruntled dolphin is a bit like being hit by a small car with the tow hitch on the front bumper.
It will be another opportunity to have a sausage sizzle with Royalties for regions picking up the tab.
More than 160 individual dolphins have been identified by researchers working at the Bunbury Dolphin centre, but not all are permanent residents.