A simple page of some moments in my life, and the stories behind them, that I would like to share with the world.
Most have links to short videos I have made of them as well, so hit play and enjoy!
Fist off, a little info on Dusky dolphins.
They are found mainly in coastal waters in the Southern Hemisphere, can grow up to 210cm in length, can live for over 30 years, eat a variaty of fish and squid, and, something I experienced first hand in this encounter, are extremely inquisitve and very sociable.
My wife and I were on our way to look for yellowtail at Dassen Island, a small island about 7km due west from Yzerfontein in the Western Cape in South Africa. About half way to the island a pod of duskies popped up underneath the jetski and started jumping out of the wake and bow wave. I stopped the ski and got in the water with them. A few of them swam around me for a while and followed me down every time I dove, but one specific one caught my eye. She had a small white mark on the right side of her lip and she seemed a lot more curious about me than the rest.
After about 15 minutes she was the only one left, and was comming closer and closer to me on each pass. Eventually she started nibbeling my fins!
I can only think that the patterns on them looked like something she might want to eat, because she carried on with this behaviour for close on 30 minutes. Every time she dissapeared into the blue, all I had to do was swim down and within a few seconds she was back around me and trying to get at my fins!