A pod of more than 20 playful dolphins swam alongside a Dun Laoghaire Harbour crew’s boat on Friday, much to the crew's delight.
The crew managed to capture the scene in a fantastic video, which was shared online by Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown County Council on Twitter. The council said a cruise ship was visiting Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Friday morning and was anchored in Dublin Bay.
On their way out to the cruise ship, they came across a pod of over 20 dolphins. The dolphins stayed around the guide boats for around an hour before the bay became busy with traffic, and they swam off together.
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Dolphins aren’t native to Dublin Bay, meaning this visit was quite a surprise for many locals in the area. And here’s some things you may not know about the fantastic creatures:
The killer whale is the largest species of dolphin.
Some can reach speeds of 48 kph.
They don’t chew their food, they swallow it whole!
Bottlenose dolphins can recognise themselves in a mirror.
Taking to social media, users were delighted to witness the rare dolphin sighting. One person wrote: "Wow, this is not something you see every day in Dublin! Amazing!"
Another person wrote: "Incredible to see dolphins in the bay this morning." A third person wrote: "Gorgeous pod of dolphins and so friendly."
Dolphins are rare to see in Dublin, although in recent months there have been a number of sightings such as when a dolphin was spotted on rare swim in the River Liffey in March. The most frequently sighted species is the Short-beaked Common Dolphin and the Bottlenose Dolphin according to Whale Watch West Cork.
Meanwhile, Risso's Dolphins, Killer Whales (Orca) and Long-finned Pilot Whales can also be spotted off Irish coasts. More rarely, there are sometimes sightings of other oceanic dolphins such as the Atlantic White-sided Dolphin and the White-beaked Dolphin but they more usually favour the deeper waters of the Eastern Atlantic at the edge of the continental shelf.
Read Next:
- Watch: Dolphin spotted on 'rare' swim in River Liffey
- WATCH: amazing moment local spots playful dolphins at North Dublin beach
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