An Edinburgh-based wildlife lover has captured a once-in-a-lifetime shot of one of her favourite animals.
Marta Franco took an incredible photo of a bottlenose dolphin leaping from the water close to Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth.
Incredibly, the female dolphin was accompanied by her young calf who was leaping at its mother's side.
The budding wildlife photographer was able to photograph them at the perfect moment mid-leap during a day trip to the area Wednesday, August 25.
The female dolphin was identified as #1203, a 7-year old recently spotted by the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrew's University thanks to the unique nick on the trailing edge of her dorsal fin.
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Speaking about the photo, Marta said: "I saw this beautiful bottlenose dolphin and its lovely calf when I was returning home from Bass Rock.
"When I shared the photo online, Ronnie Mackie from the Forth Marine Mammals group suggested that I should send it to the CitizenFins project to see if they could ID the mother by the unusual marks on her fin.
"I was literally speechless when I received an email from them with details of the dolphin and the places where it had been seen along the years."
The wildlife enthusiast is now urging anyone else who has taken pics of the dolphins recently to do the same, as it really helps the research team, she added: "I have now sent them other images, and they were able to identify nine more dolphins.
"It was the most amazing experience I have ever had as an amateur wildlife photographer."
The delighted team shared Marta's pic on their official Twitter page and confirmed they can see new changes to the fin.
Marta then shared the unique image onto the Scottish Humpback ID/ Forth Cetacean Sightings social media group where delighted followers flocked to compliment the photo.
One person wrote: "Absolutely stunning! Even a lil baby one too!"
While another added: "What an incredible shot! I love how you captured the baby looking at you too."
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