[video at link]
Dana Point – A video showing a breathtaking stampede of common dolphins in the Californian ocean off the Orange County coast is going viral online. Tourists on a whale-watching tour filmed the dolphins, hundreds of them splashing in water alongside the boat.
Discovery News reports the footage was shot from a whale and dolphin watching boat called the Dana Pride, operated by the company Dana Wharf Whale Watching.
According to CBS News, the mega-pod of dolphins could number close to 2,000 and were swimming at around 25 miles per hour.
Discovery News quotes Ocean Institute, saying, “At times, these dolphins are found in tremendously large pod sizes of 5000 or more.”
Some people have complained about the video, saying the dolphins were probably frightened. One YouTube viewer commented: ”Contrary to the idea that the dolphins are having a grand ol’ time, it’s more likely that the noise, vibration and water turbulence caused by the boat may have frightened the dolphins, which all reacted at once.”
Another view complained: “Do you really have to drive your boat through the middle of them?”
But Long Island Press quotes researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger saying that she has never known dolphins to react negatively to a boat. Schulman-Janiger said: “They either ignore the boat, usually if they’re feeding, or they race over to the boat.”
Dolphins appear to be playful animals. They are known to chase after boats for the fun of it. A viewer of the video on YouTube testifies: “Was out in a fishing boat off the coast and we had about a dozen come up and jump alongside us for a few minutes. They do this for fun, people. I just wish I could have as much fun as they do.”
A scene from the documentary The Cove
via Video: Spectacular dolphin stampede at Dana Point harbor.
