This happened on Sundays Port Inglis tour near the mouth of Crystal River. We were taking our lunch break at the site of an old ghost town (on an island in the upper Suncoast Keys) and I was standing at the edge of a small cove when I heard the thump, thump splashing of dolphins herding fish. I turned on my video camera as a small pod rounded a point and entered the cove. As the dolphins crossed the cove, three alligators suddenly appeared out of the marshes, apparently drawn by the loud splashing. We had just paddled through that cove a few minutes earlier without a gator in sight (we rarely see gators here, especially in mid-day), so Im assuming the gators knew what the dolphins were doing and hoped to get in on the action. The dolphins then swam in a quick round-up circle around the fish and attacked. Very exciting! This is a typical hunting technique we occasionally see in Crystal River and also on our tours on Chassahowitzka River and the Cedar Keys. What was NOT typical was what happened next. After catching as many fish as they could, one of the dolphins swam across the cove and then bolted past me and deliberately splashed me with a big swoosh of its tail. It then floated quietly for a few seconds, watching me with one eye to see my reaction. I hope he realized I was not baring my teeth like an angry dog but grinning from ear-to-ear like a happy (soaked) river guide!
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 17:23:38 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015