Three wild dolphins living off Bermuda's coast are raising eyebrows and questions in the international science community after one dived to depths of nearly 2,000 feet ? by far the deepest dive ever recorded for the species.

And while much of the dolphins' daily movements appear to be meandering around the Island, two of the dolphins ? Chip and Bermudiana ? have surprised scientists yet again by taking off on a week-long journey more than 120 miles northeast of Bermuda.

The three wild dolphins were briefly caught, fitted with satellite tags and released two weeks ago by researchers studying the offshore dolphin group.

Their travels are tracked by global geographic satellite relay technology and posted daily on the research website at http://www.dolphinquest.org. while time-depth recorders measure and report the dolphins' diving behaviour.

The field leader for the Bermuda Wild Dolphin Tracking Project, Leigh Klatsky, said preliminary data showed Bermudiana, the only female of the three, diving to depths exceeding 1,950 feet, by far the deepest dives recorded for the species.

"There is so much that we don't know about the lives of wild dolphins. We're amazed every day," he said.

"Previous studies of wild dolphins focused on shallow water, near-shore populations. The Bermuda dolphin study is showing us that at least some groups of dolphins are, indeed, extraordinarily deep divers."

Dr. Klatsky said the dolphins may be making regular dives more than one-third mile below the ocean surface to feast on lantern fish, squid and the myriad of creatures that converge in what scientists call the "deep scattering layer" of ocean life.

The deep dolphin dives last for ten minutes and more. Another question puzzling researchers is whether the dolphins, observed sporadically by Bermuda fishermen, are a stable, resident population living in proximity to the Island year round.

While scientists initially thought this to be the case, the more distant travels of two of the recently tagged dolphins may reveal a wider home range and more frequent ocean ramblings.

Dr. Klatsky and the Bermuda Wild Dolphin Tracking team will continue to monitor the comings and goings ? and the ups and downs ? of JD, Chip and Bermudiana, and expect to learn even more about the sleek marine mammal species.

The satellite tracking tags are attached to the dolphins' dorsal fins and engineered to detach after three to four months of delivering location and depth data.

Meanwhile back on dry land, Bermuda's schoolchildren are following the dolphins' progress on the Internet and incorporating the real time research reports into lessons in maths and local marine life.

The Bermuda Wild Dolphin Tracking Project is a collaboration between Dolphin Quest Bermuda and the Bermuda Zoological Society.