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Incredible Photo of Whale and Dolphin Playing

John P.

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Whale And DolphinThis is one of the most stunning and beautiful nature photographs I’ve ever seen. (Select the thumbnail image to see the full size version.) Considering that it also took first place in the Smithsonian’s National Wildlife Awards, I guess I’m not surprised.

The image was captured off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii and here is what the photographer, Lori Mazzuca, had to say:

“I was observing a strange interaction between a pair of bottlenose dolphins and a humpback whale, when it became apparent that the two species were collaborating in some way. The dolphin was lying on a humpback whale’s head while it was slowly swimming along. Looking through my camera lens the stunt appeared to be orchestrated by mutual “agreement.”

The whale very slowly—and vertically—lifted the dolphin into the air. I expected the dolphin to wriggle atop the humpback’s head to get off, but it just laid still and arched, trying to stay on top of the whale’s snout. In this frame the dolphin was beginning its slippery return to the sea. Once back in the ocean, the dolphin swiftly swam away with the other dolphin, leaping joyfully as if they had just scored a coup!”

The photo was shot with a Canon EOS 10D; 70-200mm lens with 1.4x extender; digital capture.

The original and more of these nature photos can be found here.

Comments

  1. Great pic. Real or photo shop, I spend enough time on and in the ocean with both these creatures to know it could really happen. Probably more than one would think. Many times while swimming on Kauai and the big island dolphins come up and swim with me, sometimes for an hour. They bring toys to play with, mostly leaves. Whales are so gentile, I could imagine them doing with humans as well. I have had dolphins come to me for reiki healing of their cookie cutter shark bites, that is love and trust.

  2. Adam. What does your comment have to do with this picture? The Simpsons? Is that where you get your facts? Just like humans dolphins can be kind and gentle at one point, yet brutal and cruel the next minute depending on the circumstances! Dolphins are documented as being quite kind and have rescued man as well as other marine species. This is documented over and over again. The dolphin Moko in New Zealand had been observed guiding a female Pygmy Sperm Whale together with her calf out of shallow water where they had stranded several times! They have also been seen protecting swimmers from sharks by swimming circles around the swimmers or charging the sharks to make them go away.

  3. http://www.dumagueteinfo.com/board/tourist-information/whale-dolphin-watching-trip-bais-19.html

    A pictorial from one of our dolphin watching trips. The boatman tells us there are whale sharks out here as ewll, but they rarely see them any more. Too bad, I would love to see the whale sharks too.

    Our last dolphin trip was perfect, the water was like glass, and we literally saw hundreds of dolphins jumping around as far as the eye could see. Truly amazing creatures.

    Kim:)

  5. Awesome photo for sure. I have still to see a whale in the open waters myself.

    We go dolphin watching here sometimes which is so cool, I just love seeing dolphins play around.

  6. Yes, they maybe attractive. But in reality their pretty mean creatures. I think the Simpsons illustrated this fact very well in the episode where the dolphins invade Springfield.

    On a more serious note, dolphins are known to cause a lot of problems.

  14. That’s a really interesting picture! I wonder what the benefits to each were. I’m sure that eventually as this picture is being viewed that someone will cry “Photoshop” on it. As is with many things, truth is stranger than fiction!

  16. What an amazing photograph. It really is a beautiful scene, and the first thing that comes to mind is love.

    I think you should show me this on any rainy day and it would make me happy.