Recent sightings of a pod of playful dolphins near various points along Grand Cayman’s shoreline has been delighting local wildlife lovers.
One such enthusiast is 32-year-old Owen Foster who captured footage of a pod of dolphins off Pedro St James on the weekend.
Foster said he was out with friends at Thatch and Barrel restaurant and, while looking out at the water, he noticed a break in the surface around 4pm.
He said at first he thought it was a turtle coming up for air, but then he was in for a surprise after it turned out to be dolphins frolicking.
“I started standing by the railing watching them and then all of a sudden, the first two did jump and, ‘Holy’, I grabbed my phone. They were there for probably an hour and 45 minutes… at that point we left. They only jumped in that first instance of maybe 10, 15 minutes,” he said.
After the dolphins jumped out of the water, Foster said, there a few more breaches on the surface afterwards.
However, he said, the jumps were “very coordinated” and were in four phases.
Foster, who said he has seen dolphins in open waters before, said he believes they were feeding when he and his friends spotted them near Pedro.
Sunset House Dive House also spotted the pod of dolphins on the weekend and sharef a video of the encounter on its Facebook page.
Department of Environment deputy director Tim Austin, in an emailed comment on the sightings, welcomed the public’s enthusiasm at seeing dolphins in the wild.
“We are excited whenever members of the Cayman community have the opportunity to view wild dolphins passing by our shores, and these ones put on a rare display,” he said. “Dolphins are masters of their movements in the sea and will naturally evade any potential threats, including humans.
“Likewise, we expect the public are naturally mindful of respecting our land, waters and all of the many amazing creatures which pass through Cayman.”
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