WHALE RIDER

A Bottlenose Dolphin Hitches A Ride From A Blue Whale Off Hawaii

Interspecies Play

The behavior depicted in the photo above—a bottlenose dolphin sliding down the back of a humpback whale—is not a fluke. Scientists and tourists alike have witnessed this strange and marvelous interspecies interaction time and time again in the waters around the Hawaiian Islands.

While most animal behaviors are connected in some way to the animals’ survival, scientists say that in this case, the most logical explanation is that the two species merely enjoy playing together. More information is available here.