Scientists have observed an interested behavior in Australian humpback dolphins, the males present “gifts” to females during courtship. The gifts are primarily sponges, ornate ones, that they often toss to prospective mates. The behavior was observed on 17 separate occasions in 5 separate dolphin pods. The study was conducted over the course of ten years.
A video recently shared on Imgur shows dolphins bow riding at night. Sounds simple enough, but the video is shot without artificial light and shows the plankton being disturbed and bioluminescing, highlighting the dolphin forms as they swim and dive off the bow of a boat at night.
On tuesday, the National Aquarium in Baltimore announced plans to move its dolphins to a seaside sanctuary. The move comes as public opinion to marine mammals in captivity has shifted to a more negative stance. After weighing options for the dolphins for the last five years, the aquarium has concluded it will move their current dolphin residents by the year 2020.
Wetpixel member Simon Buxton has posted some amazing footage of a huge pod of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) as it makes it’s way up the East African coast each year in the search of sardines. He invites us to “follow them for a short part of this journey to see what they find.”
Wetpixel featured a gallery of images from photographer Brian Skerry’s article in the May issue of National Geographic Magazine. Wetpixel was able to catch Brian during one of his brief periods when he has internet access and ask him a few questions about the article, shooting for National Geographic and dolphins….
Captain Dave Anderson has posted a 5-minute video, shot with a DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter equipped with a GoPro HERO3 Black camera, that features a super pod of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) stampeding off Dana Point, California, three gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) migrating together down the coast off San Clemente, California and close-ups of a newborn humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) calf.