©Natalie Keshing
Editor-in-Chief
http://www.natswritings.com
Dolphin Collides With Surfer:
Dramatic video from Australia captured an unusual sight, a dolphin jumping onto a surfboard.
Just something uniquely unusual, watch a playful dolphin jumping onto surfer 13-year-old Jed Gradisen. Both at high speeds collided. Luckily, Gradisen was not injured, but quite surprised. His surfing board was damaged. That tells you the force of the impact of the dolphin nose diving onto Gradisen’s surfing board.
And it’s no surprise to us that dolphins are highly intelligent marine mammals and are part of the family of toothed whales that includes orcas and pilot whales. They are found worldwide, mostly in shallow seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating fish and squid. Dolphin coloration varies, but they are generally gray in color with darker backs than the rest of their bodies.
Dolphins are well known for their agility and playful behavior, making them a favorite of wildlife watchers. Many species will leap out of the water, spy-hop (rise vertically out of the water to view their surroundings) and follow ships, often synchronizing their movements with one another. Scientists believe that dolphins conserve energy by swimming alongside ships, a practice known as bow-riding.
Dolphins live in social groups of five to several hundred. They use echolocation (by radar or sonar) to find prey and often hunt together by surrounding a school of fish, trapping them and taking turns swimming through the school and catching fish. Dolphins will also follow seabirds, other whales and fishing boats to feed opportunistically on the fish they scare up or discard.
But it’s all good in a very unusual day for Jed Gradisen and the dolphin.
Echolocation – Method of locating objects by determining the time for an echo to return and the direction from which it returns, as by radar or sonar.
