Sea creature seen ‘practically flying’ off Wales, photos show. See ‘amazing encounter’
On a Sunday morning in April, boaters off the coast of Wales were treated to an astonishing display of dolphin acrobatics.
People on board a tour boat near New Quay, a tiny fishing village, spotted a bottlenose dolphin leaping high above the horizon.
It was “an absolutely amazing encounter,” according to an April 21 news release from SeaMôr Dolphin Watching, which included several photos.
“It was practically flying,” the photographer who snapped the images, wrote in a separate Facebook post. “Really incredible when you get to see them breaching so high!”
The boat was some distance away from the animal, but those on board could clearly make out the spectacular performance.
“Bottlenose dolphins can jump up to about (16 feet) high and at times this breachy individual was hitting those lofty heights!” the company said.
Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain why dolphins jump out of the water.
One states that dolphins partake in the behavior to “reaffirm social bonds before a hunt,” according to a 2006 study published in the journal Behavioral Processes.
Another hypothesis postulates that the animals leap out of the water to help herd fish near the surface “for easier capture,” according to the study.
Bottlenose dolphins are found throughout tropical and temperate waters around the globe, including in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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