Lots of video!
Two boat trips today! I managed to record over 35 minutes of video on just one trip this morning! We stumbled across a large group of dolphin foraging in the tosaka (seaweed). They were milling around this one spot – which is a nice change; we usually run across dolphins on the move. These guys were staying put however, and were occupied with finding fish hiding in the seaweed. I managed to get some great shots of dolphins using their echolocation to search for fish. Some individuals took an interest in us and gave us a close inspection. #455 (Saronpasu), a subadult female, was quite curious. She swam close to me for a while and opened her jaws – it looked kind of like she was soliciting a dental exam from me. Often times an open jaw is a threat, but I am confident she was being playful. Perhaps she wanted to nibble on the MVA, but just never got up the courage to try. In any event, she spent a few minutes swimming around me with an open mouth. I’ve included some pictures of her in various positions – sideways, upside down, etc.
I am rather thankful that she didn’t go in for a nibble – a playful dolphin bite would have made this boat trip a lot less enjoyable. Better than a playful bite from a great white shark I suppose. But still, I’ve never been a fan of being chewed on by wild animals.
-Justin