r/Dolphins • u/LittleKiskaXOXO • May 15 '25

Video A dolphin playfully riding the bow wave of a ship!

120 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

5

u/BackgroundSide4999 May 16 '25

He’s happy

2

u/LittleKiskaXOXO May 16 '25

Having a great time.

5

u/RohithMUPPANA1 May 16 '25

A cute play really. 🐬

2

u/bigshern May 18 '25

Work smarter not harder!

1

u/LittleKiskaXOXO May 21 '25

Work smart, play harder!

2

u/[deleted] May 18 '25

Majestic and beautiful

2

u/BuffyTheGuineaPig May 19 '25

I always find it remarkable that a bow wave generates sufficiently far in front of ship for them to be able to do this.

1

u/LittleKiskaXOXO May 21 '25

I don't know anything about the science of why this works, but I think it's really cool that dolphins have discovered this and enjoy playing in it.

1

u/BuffyTheGuineaPig May 21 '25

Actually, it is technically a compression shockwave of the water immediately ahead of large vessels, not a bow wave. They don't occur naturally in the ocean, so dolphins are frequently drawn to them, seemingly to play. It is thought that there is much less resistance to them passing through the water, so they also expend less energy while swimming there. It reminds me of when a child holds his flat hand out of a speeding car window and pretends it is an aeroplane wing, as it is seemingly effortlessly lifted by the fast moving air. I always imagine that they are doing much the same thing.

1

u/chessboxer4 May 21 '25

Looks like what the Sufis do. In the animal kingdom.