Dolphins are champions at catching fish and it is joy to have the privilege of watching their strength, speed, and agility in action.  When dolphins are feeding we always watch from a distance.  This is a great time for topside observation and zoom lens photography. The following photos show the dolphins chasing and herding fish cooperatively and individually.

Dolphins sleep with only half of their brain at a time. They close one eye, which allows the opposite side of the brain to go into sleep mode. It is more like we would think of as a deep meditation. They don't have a specific time to rest or sleep like humans do. They decide to sleep as a group and most of the pod will go into this half sleep at the time.

When dolphins are in a playful, social mood they are full of energy and exuberance.  Social time usually starts off with several dolphins swimming together, rubbing pectoral fins, and being extremely tactile with one another. Sometimes the younger dolphins and babies will play games with one another, tossing a sand dollar, playing tag with a piece of seaweed, and even wrestling each other. Some of these behaviors even mimic adult dolphin mating behavior.

This playful time is when they are most likely to interact with humans and will often seek out boats to surf along with.  Dolphins are extremely intelligent and their interest in us is often based on curiosity and spontaneity. Sometimes they can't resist bow-riding or just coming over to greet their old friend, 'Patty C.' The following photos show dolphins flirting, playing, mating and socializing.

Dolphins are highly intelligent animals with complex social structures. The first several years of a baby dolphins life is spent very close to his mother watching and learning everything from her and his/her other elders. Everything from navigating and traveling in new areas, hunting different species of fish, and even social skills are learned behaviors. It is because of this that researchers are beginning to study cultural differences in dolphin pods around the world. Just as it is known that pods of orca whales from different areas have distinct dialects, the same applies to other cetaceans and their habits