click for slideshowI find dolphins very intriguing creatures. They seem to enjoy the presence of humans. I’ve seen in numerous occasions dolphin approaching the boats I’m in, in what appears to be in a state of apparent glee. This appearance is further enhanced by what seems to us humans as a mouth fixed in a permanent grin. After approaching the boat, they would then show off their swimming prowess by jumping out sometimes in unison out of the water.
Another common behavior is having them swimming right in front of a moving boat riding the waves made by the bow which makes it looks like it is trying to race with the boat. I guess that’s why in the Malay language dolphins are called ‘ikan lumba-lumba’ which roughly translates to ‘racing fish’.
These set of pictures were taken on the journey back from Bunaken Island to Manado in Sulawesi, Indonesia. What happened was, halfway through the boat ride, the boatman spotted a group of dolphins about 200 meters away. He immediately stopped the boat and alerted us to their presence. Knowing the dolphins’ behavior, I quickly grabbed my camera, went to the front of the boat and lay down waiting for them to approach.
Sure enough, the school of dolphins approaches our boat and started showing off their acrobatics. When the boat started to move a few of them would take turns ‘surfing the waves’ in front of it.
Dolphins, camera, action……only God knows why they do the things they do.
Me……, I’m just grateful for the memories.
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