When common dolphins travel quickly and en masse, it’s a sight to behold.
Many refer to the phenomenon as a “dolphin stampede,” and viewers can see why in the accompanying footage, captured Sunday off Laguna Beach, Ca.
The footage was captured by Chuck Patterson, a well-known surfer who had been hydro-foiling with friends aboard a private yacht before encountering the dolphins.
“They came out of nowhere,” Patterson told the Orange County Register. “They looked like they were going down the coast and kind of hooked up with us to go up the coast.”
About 450,000 common dolphins reside off Southern California. Pod sizes vary, but can number in the the hundreds or even thousands.
The larger pods can travel at high speed like this on their own, but are often inspired into this playful behavior by fast-moving boats, which create bow- and wake-surfing opportunities for the sleek cetaceans.
(Dolphins will also stampede if they’re being pursued by killer whales.)
Patterson, who lives in San Clemente, described the stampeding dolphins as “wild horses of the sea” on his Facebook post.
Patterson told the Orange County Register that the dolphins were on both sides of the 95-foot yacht and stayed with the boaters for about 25 minutes.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “It’s just something that tells you and shows you the ocean is alive and gives you a different respect of how beautiful nature is and we really need to preserve it more to see these magic moments. It’s super empowering. It was one of those feel-good moments. You could watch them for hours.”
