A RARE sighting of a ‘megapod’ of dolphins has been caught on camera off the coast of California.
The dolphins stampeded alongside a boat in the waters off Laguna Beach, delighting those who got to witness their aerobatics.
Athlete Chuck Patterson managed to capture the footage when the dolphins surrounded a boat he was sailing with friends.
He wrote on Facebook: “Absolutely amazing witnessing this huge pod of young dolphins marching up the coast off Laguna Beach today.
“Mother Nature’s amazing wonders never disappoint. Highlighting the importance in protecting this magic by cleaning up our oceans and use of single use plastics.”
Patterson told Reuters that there were likely more than 100 dolphins in the pod that raced them up the coast.
Southern California is said to have the greatest density of dolphins per square mile than any other location on Earth.
That figure includes nearly 450,000 common dolphins, the creatures that are thought to be in the video.
Experts think that large megapods of dolphins can contain up to 10,000 dolphins and it is possible that there were many more dolphins under the surface in the latest megapod video footage.
Dolphins normally live in pods of 12 but these groups can stampede together and form a megapod.
Stampeding is unusual behaviour for dolphins so it is rarely witnessed but it can happen if dolphins are trying to avoid a predator, chase a boat or sometimes just without warning and for no apparent reason.
Dolphin facts
Here's what you need to know about the cute creatures...
- Dolphins are small toothed aquatic mammals and there are currently almost 40 different species of them
- There are 36 dolphin species, which can be found in every ocean but there are a few of them that live in freshwater streams and rivers like the South Asian river dolphin and the Amazon river dolphin
- Despite their name, Killer Whales are actually the largest kind of dolphin and can grow up to 30 feet long
- Sometimes Killer Whales prey upon other dolphins
- Common dolphins mostly eat fish and squid
- They use echolocation to navigate the ocean and find prey, which involves creating sound waves to bounce off objects so they can work out things like size and distance
- An echolocating dolphin can make up to 1,000 clicking noises per second
- They are very sociable, playful animals and are constantly commincating with each other
- They normally live in pods of around 12 but can form a ‘megapod’ with other nearby dolphins in rare situations, such as if they are avoiding predators
- We don’t know for certain how long the average dolphin lifespan is but female bottlenose dolphins have been known to live for more than 60 years and females tend to outlive males
- Dolphins can reach speeds of more than 18 miles an hour and often like to swim alongside boats
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News Photo Stunning footage of over 100 dolphins ‘stampeding’ alongside boat reveals rare ‘megapod’ event
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