Pelican Snatches Fish After Dolphin 'Kicks' it High in the Air

Drone footage taken in St. Petersburg, Florida, captured a the moment a dolphin used its powerful tail to slap a fish out of the water, allowing a pelican to swoop in and grab the fish.

Footage by Michael McCarthy, who runs a local boat and kayak business called See Through Canoe, shows the dolphins’ “fish kicking” hunting technique gone awry, as the pelican snatches the fish before the dolphins can get to it.

“There are basically no videos showing this interesting and dramatic technique being used by bottlenose dolphins other than the ones I have taken over the last few years,” McCarthy said. Credit: Michael McCarthy via Storyful