20 surfing dolphines line up to catch a wave
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NeverSayGoodBye
Many visitors to Australia have two particular things on their 'to do' list ? go surfing and swim with dolphins.
It seems the dolphins like to do exactly the same.
As this astonishing picture shows, this group of at least 20 of the creatures couldn't resist catching a giant wave when it came along.
The friendly animals often come close to the shore at this spot some 300 miles north of Perth in Western Australia and rub their noses against swimmers and surfers in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean
In a rare sight, bottle-nosed dolphins play together in the crashing wavesBut sometimes the bottle-nosed dolphins that live along the 1,500-mile coastline like to enjoy time off from entertaining the tourists ? and do what humans do.
This jolly frolic was captured on film at Eagle Gorge, a well-known dolphin- watching location in the Kalbarri National Park.
The playful creatures leap over each other in a seemingly choreographed wayIt is not the first time a whole group of dolphins has been caught leaping over a wave in such a seemingly choreographed fashion, but wildlife experts say the phenomenon is extremely rare.
Bottle-nosed dolphins, recognisable by their 14-inch snout and what appears to be a grin, are found in the warmest oceans, although they have also been seen off the British coast.
They frequently ride on the waves made by the wake of boats or enjoy catching the waves that humans surf on.
This activity, say scientists, is the result of natural behaviour adapted from swimming in a mother dolphin's 'slip stream' when they are youngsters.
They are friendly towards humans and although researchers have yet to define exactly why, it is believed they have a naturally placid and inquisitive nature.
They will avoid aggression, even ifit comes from sharks, and it is only when they are in extreme danger that they will team up and turn on their enemies.
Members of a family of mammals called cetaceans, they tend to swim in groups known as pods.
They will often accompany humpback whales on their migration up and down the eastern Australian coast.
While most pods consist of around six to ten dolphins, sometimes the pods will team up for aslong as a day before splitting up again.
The males can grow up to 12ft long and weigh 70stone, while females are a little smaller.
Marine scientists say they are among the most intelligent creatures in the animal world and can communicate so well with humans that they are easy to train for tricks in captivity.
Flipper, the star of the television programme, was a bottle-nosed dolphin, and many others havebeen featured in movies.
Such is their intelligence that an individual will often swim ahead of the pod on a scouting mission to check out unfamiliar territory and then report back to the rest of the group through signals scientists have yet to understand.
Fishermen have observed that if another bottle-nosed dolphin is drowning, others will come to its aid and support it with their bodies so its blowhole is above the water.
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TehJarVu
wooooo swee
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NeverSayGoodBye
Lets go surrrrrrrfing!!
