Surfing dolphins stole the show at the Rincon Classic surf competition in Santa Barbara, California this past weekend. This is yet another example of how much people have in common with our cetacean friends.
With hundreds of spectators on the beach, the pod of at least a dozen dolphins came right into the contest area to the great joy of the crowd and could be seen silhouetted inside a wave.
Surfer Abby Brown caught the wave and dropped in alongside her fellow wave riders, taking off as the dolphins swam by just beneath her. –Presidio Sports
Check out some great photos of surfing dolphins (as well as surfing humans) on Santa Barbara’s own Presidio Sports website. Head on over to the Rinon Classic homepage for plenty of information, videos and photos from the competition.
Screen capture of surfing dolphins video
Dolphins have also been observed apparently “getting high” on puffer fish venom.
Zoologist Rob Pilley is quoted in the UK’s Sunday Times (via NBC News):
This was a case of young dolphins purposely experimenting with something we know to be intoxicating … After chewing the puffer gently and passing it round, they began acting most peculiarly, hanging around with their noses at the surface as if fascinated by their own reflection.
Just like human teens, right?
From surfing dolphins to slaughtered dolphins
Over the past few days I’ve covered the dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan’s infamous cove over at Greenfudge.org. Each year Japan slaughters some 20,000 dolphins. The dolphin hunt in Taiji was made famous by the 2009 documentary film “The Cove”, which exposes the secretive capture of dolphins for both sale to marine parks and slaughter for food. Until recently mainstream media has been very silent on this issue and the Japanese media in particular has blacked out the subject entirely.
I encourage everyone who reads this to get informed about dolphin slaughter and enslavement and spread the word. Follow Sea Shepherd’s Cove Guardians on Twitter and visit the Cove Guardians website for more detailed information about efforts to stop the dolphin hunt at Taiji.
Wouldn’t you rather see surfing dolphins than dead or enslaved ones? See surfing dolphin video here
