Animal behaviour expert reveals what the playful dolphin who swam with a family in Dorset was REALLY doing

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

For many, it would be a dream come true.
A lucky family were treated to an aquatic masterclass after a playful dolphin joined them on their morning swim.
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 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.
Now, experts have revealed what the behaviour really means.
Thea Taylor, managing director of the Sussex Dolphin Project, said she believes the dolphin was a young male adult who wanted to 'make connections'.
'Bottlenose dolphins are inherently curious animals and have often been shown to mimic behaviours of other individuals and other animals,' she told The Daily Mail.
'It may be that this curious dolphin was trying to mimic the people's upright position in the water.
'Playing and mimicking movement is one of the main ways in which dolphins secure bonds with other individuals so, if it is a solitary dolphin without a pod it may be trying to find connections with other animals.
'The behaviour does really look like the animal is playing, the animal is choosing to stay with the family and they gave the animal space to move off when it was ready.'
She warned that while this was a situation where the dolphin appeared to seek out the family, she strongly encourages other people not to seek out animals like this.
'Encouraging interactions with people can be dangerous for the animal, and people too,' she said.
'They are powerful animals and may not intentionally hurt people, but accidents can happen.'
A closer look at the dolphin's behaviour suggests it was performing a manoeuvre known as spy–hopping – effectively treading water.
This involves the dolphin holding itself vertically and kicking with its tail in order to hold its head above the water.
The behaviour is commonly used to visually inspect the environment above the water line.
The dolphin in the video also appears to approach and rub itself against the swimmers.
While reasons for this may be unclear, similar actions recorded during other human–dolphin encounters have led scientists to believe it could be misdirected sexual advances.
In 2018, a 'love–lorn' dolphin's interest toward humans caused a French town to ban swimming.
The animal, named Zafar, would rub up against swimmers, boats and kayaks and even allowed people to hold on to his dorsal fin in the Bay of Brest.
In other instances, the dolphin prevented a female swimmer from returning to shore – she was later rescued by boat – and lifted another woman out of the water with his nose
Elizabeth Hawkins, lead researcher with Dolphin Research Australia, explained that solitary male dolphins may rub themselves on people or objects to form and reinforce bonds.
'It's been observed that dolphins and different whale species will rub themselves against objects with what appears to be some type of sexual satisfaction coming about,' she said at the time.
According to Dorset Wildlife Trust, 28 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises have been recorded along the UK coastline – a number of these 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.