Many visitors to Australia have two particular things on their 'to
do' list ? go surfing and swim with dolphins.
It seems the dolphins like to do exactly the same.
As this astonishing picture shows, this group of at least 20 of the
creatures couldn't resist catching a giant wave when it came
along.
The friendly animals often come close to the shore at this spot
some 300 miles north of Perth in Western Australia and rub their
noses against swimmers and surfers in the warm waters of the Indian
Ocean
But sometimes the bottle-nosed dolphins that live along the
1,500-mile coastline like to enjoy time off from entertaining the
tourists ? and do what humans do.
This jolly frolic was captured on film at Eagle Gorge, a well-known
dolphin- watching location in the Kalbarri National Park.
It is not the first time a whole group of dolphins has been
caught leaping over a wave in such a seemingly choreographed
fashion, but wildlife experts say the phenomenon is extremely
rare.
Bottle-nosed dolphins, recognisable by their 14-inch snout and
what appears to be a grin, are found in the warmest oceans,
although they have also been seen off the British coast.
They frequently ride on the waves made by the wake of boats or
enjoy catching the waves that humans surf on.
This activity, say scientists, is the result of natural
behaviour adapted from swimming in a mother dolphin's 'slip stream'
when they are youngsters.
They are friendly towards humans and although researchers have
yet to define exactly why, it is believed they have a naturally
placid and inquisitive nature.
They will avoid aggression, even ifit comes from sharks, and it
is only when they are in extreme danger that they will team up and
turn on their enemies.
Members of a family of mammals called cetaceans, they tend to
swim in groups known as pods.
They will often accompany humpback whales on their migration up
and down the eastern Australian coast.
While most pods consist of around six to ten dolphins, sometimes
the pods will team up for aslong as a day before splitting up
again.
The males can grow up to 12ft long and weigh 70stone, while
females are a little smaller.
Marine scientists say they are among the most intelligent
creatures in the animal world and can communicate so well with
humans that they are easy to train for tricks in captivity.
Flipper, the star of the television programme, was a
bottle-nosed dolphin, and many others havebeen featured in
movies.
Such is their intelligence that an individual will often swim
ahead of the pod on a scouting mission to check out unfamiliar
territory and then report back to the rest of the group through
signals scientists have yet to understand.
Fishermen have observed that if another bottle-nosed dolphin is
drowning, others will come to its aid and support it with their
bodies so its blowhole is above the water.
