Dolphin Stampede

[Bob Moyer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDiEXRMB-u8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDiEXRMB-u8)

I remember something similar to this when I was in the Navy; but not this many.

[mark page]

Even though in the navy, I haven't seen the dolphins do this. But....I have seen and been the victim of the same syndrome several years ago on a local river from Asian carp. Broke my fishfinder from flying in the boat, hit a friend in the chops and almost knocked him out, and must have had at least 30 fish land in the boat not counting the multitude that rammed the boat. Was the last time I fished that river, very expensive trip, plus I can't feel comfortable wearing hockey gear while fishing.

[Bob Moyer]

I was on a spy ship off the coast of Cuba; we sailed back and forth monitoring radio traffic and the ships that went in and out of Havana. This was after the Cuban missle crisis; but, the ship I was on was part of the original blockade.

We often had dolphins with us; since we dumped the food scraps off the ship's stern.

[Steve Schlumpf]

I worked on a double rig shrimp boat out in the gulf for a while back in the 70s and we always had dolphins escort the boat but never any thing close to those numbers! Pretty impressive!

[Dan Gonzales]

I was fortunate enough to see something like this off the Baja California coast 200 miles south of the border while on a fishing charter about 1995.

There were HUNDREDS of dolphins all around the boat. It had to be dozens of pods grouping together for food is all we could think of. I took some photos but they didn't do justice to the HUNDREDS of dolphins 360 degrees around us. It looked like an animal mob scene as fifty dolphins would be synchronized leaping out of the water and seconds later another group going another direction and then another group some other way.

It was in some ways indescribable with the saltwater smell, the sounds that came from across the water and the utter freakishness of it to a landlubber like myself.

I am utterly thankful I got to see it once in my life.

Cheers.

Dan
Whittier, CA, USA

[John Shuk]

I've seen and snorkeled with dolphin pods cruising in the Bahamas though none so big. I was lucky enough to be in Baja as well and SCUBA in a school of mantas about 50 or so strong. I also got to dive with scalloped hammerheads schooling around a seamount. Awesome!