One one hand, yes - it is dramatic to see so many dolphins and wonderful to see that so many dolphins still exist!!
Although having seen pods of dolphins perviously, even alongside a huge ferry - they are playful, curious mammals. They enjoy their leaping and chasing and have a thrill of joy about them.
In this instance: ....
Personally, I think it looks like they are fleeing something - perhaps submarine activity or undersea testing? There were a lot of whales who became extremely distressed the last two years - so distressed they were injuring themselves, they later became stranded. A huge mass stranding :(
There were thoughts at the time that their distress was caused by the nuclear submarine off Scotland and near the Hebrides. Other thoughts were that is was confusion caused by the undersea cable.
Whatever the cause - humans have been meddling too much both under the sea and above it - destroying habitats.
These dolphins look clearly startled and in my opinion like they are fleeing something that is distressing them - be that a sound they can hear or undersea activity - perhaps its even similar to the way birds are startled before an earthquake or big storm....
Think deeper people.....
"Thousands of dolphins spanning across 7 miles of ocean were sighted off the coast of San Diego on Thursday, a boat captain told NBC 7 San Diego. Capt. Joe Dutra of Hornblower Cruises said he saw a "super mega-pod" of common dolphins Thursday around noon while he was on his daily tour. He said the pod was more than 7 miles long and 5 miles wide.
Dutra said the boat tour followed the pod for more than an hour and said he's never seen anything like it.
"When you see something that is honestly truly beyond belief," the captain said.
Guests aboard the boat started screaming and pointing when they first saw the school of adult and juvenile common dolphins. Dutra estimated there were about 100,000 dolphins swimming in the area.
"They were coming from all directions, you could see them from as far as the eye can see," he said. "I've seen a lot of stuff out here... but this is the biggest I've ever seen, ever."
Whale and dolphin watching tours have done particularly well this year, with dozens of animal sightings reported.
Marine mammal expert Sarah Wilkin said the reason the large pod might be there is because there's plenty of food in the area, including sardines, herring and squid.
"They're attracted to kind of the same thing, they might wind up in the same place," she said.
Though dolphins typically travel in groups of 200 or less, Wilkin said "super-pods" are not unheard of.
"They're definitely social animals, they stick together in small groups," she said. "But sometimes, the schools come together."
Dutra, who's been boating for decades, said he felt lucky to enjoy such a rare phenomenon.
"You had to be there to experience it," he said. "It was truly spectacular."
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