Surf’s up dude! Humans aren’t the only animal that likes to catch a wave every now and then. Even though they don’t use surf boards, dolphins love to go surfing! Just like human body surfers, dolphins have been known to ride the crests of big waves as they roll into shore. Just before the wave will crash into shore, the dolphins will turn around and rush back into open water. They can even be seen leaping clear out of the water from the top of a wave. The waves and the currents that they create help to push the dolphins along in the water, allowing them to attain fast swimming speeds with minimal effort. This is similar to the way that newborn dolphin calves stick close to their mother’s side in order to help them swim. As a mother dolphin swims quickly through the water, she forms something called a ‘slipstream’ next to her body as the water rushes past her. If the baby dolphin is inside this slipstream, he or she will be carried along with mom.
Video of surfing dolphins
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