Two bottlenose dolphins confused a group of marine researchers when they touched their fins while swimming. The moment was captured on camera, and it was so cute!
Erika Jarvis and her OceanX diving team (a non-profit marine research organization) were off the coast of Miami as part of a research mission to the Florida Keys Reef Tract when a pod of bottlenose dolphins began to follow their boat.
It’s always fascinating to see these adorable creatures swimming next to your boat, but this time Erika witnessed a sight that made her heart completely warm. Two dolphins were gently hugging their fins while swimming. Thankfully, the diver immediately snatched her phone and filmed the sweet moment.
“They stayed with us for a long time — about half an hour,” Jarvis, OceanX’s director of social media, explained. “There were about 20 of us on the bow, looking down… when the pursuer, the one standing next to me, looked at me and said: ‘Did.You.Get.That?'”
No one in the crew could not believe their eyes of what they had seen, and all were moved by the once-in-a-lifetime scene. But apparently, fin touching is a widespread behaviour among bottlenose dolphins. Dolphins are known to be highly social animals, so they use all kinds of sounds and gestures to show affection for each other.
Jarvis wrote on Instagram: “While it may look like these bottlenose dolphins coasting with the wake on our bow are engaging in a competitive handshake, “fin-to-fin touching is actually a display of social bonding, especially between females in male-biased groups. Their little synchronous breach really makes it extra sweet.”
Check out the sweet moment below!
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