Astonishing moment playful dolphin joins family on their morning swim in Dorset - jumping around and asking for belly rubs
Lynda MacDonald, 50, and her partner, son and his girlfriend, set out for their 6am morning swim at Lyme Bay, Dorset on August 3.
Seconds after the family jumped off their boat for a swim they were joined by the huge bottlenose dolphin.
The footage shows the playful mammal dancing across the water in a vertical position, asking for belly rubs and guiding people across the water with its beak.
Lynda, who works in advertising and splits her time between West London and Dorset, said: 'It was a magical moment, I'm so glad I caught it on camera.
'Out of nowhere, the dolphin immediately approached us and wanted to join in on the action.
'It was friendly and playful. It even started guiding members of our group along the water with its beak.
'It was not distressed by our presence and was very confident around us.
'I've seen a dolphin before, but this is something I'll remember forever.'
According to Dorset Wildlife Trust, 28 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises are recorded along the UK coastline - a number of these have been recorded in Dorset.
Bottlenose dolphins tend to spend more time inshore than other species, making them easier to spot from the land as well as from the sea.
They are regularly seen off the coast of the UK, especially in Moray Firth, Scotland, Cardigan Bay, Wales, and off the coasts of Cornwall and Northumberland.
The UK is thought to have a population of around 700 coastal bottlenose dolphins, who are renowned being highly sociable and indulging in playful demonstrations like leaping and bow-riding.
'The sea belongs to dolphins - we were lucky to spend a moment with it,' Lynda said.
'You can hear from the footage audio that the dolphin was happy to interact with us.
'But we were mindful; we played for five minutes and then let it go on its way.'
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