This is the adorable moment a rare panda dolphin stunned tourists off the coast of Patagonia, Argentina, with a playful display by their boat.
Footage shows the cute little dolphin, one of the smallest species in the world, grunting in the water as it apparently takes an interest in the vessel.
It rolls over in the water and starts to swim to the port side to apparently greet the tourists hanging over the edge to catch a glimpse.
The video was filmed by Argentine documentary maker Luis Burgueño, 60, who lives in Trelew in north-eastern Patagonia.
Burgueño, who is also a wildlife photographer, said the little animal was with a pod of other panda dolphins at the time.
‘This one was with other specimens around the boat and the encounter lasted longer than you see in the video’, he said.
‘It stayed with us for a good while longer.
‘But I never noticed it turning around to point its abdominal area upwards, which is a gesture of total confidence as it’s their most vulnerable area.’
A rare panda dolphin stunned tourists off the coast of Patagonia, Argentina, with a playful display by their boat
The video was filmed by Argentine documentary maker Luis Burgueño, 60, who lives in Trelew in north-eastern Patagonia
The Commerson’s dolphin – also known as a panda or skunk dolphin – resembles a baby orca due to its distinctive black and white colouring
Burgueño’s video went viral on his Instagram page with a whopping 21.2M views and nearly 6,000 comments.
The Commerson’s dolphin – also known as a panda or skunk dolphin – resembles a baby orca due to its distinctive black and white colouring.
It is only found around the tip of South America.
A subspecies, C.c.kerguelenensis, which is slightly larger than C.c.commersonii, is found around the Kerguelen Islands in the Indian Ocean.
It comes after last month a sexually frustrated dolphin was filmed allegedly attacking a swimmer while swimming in the sea near the town of Tsuruga in central Japan.
Footage shows the cute little dolphin grunting in the water as it apparently takes an interest in the vessel
Commerson’s dolphins can only be found in the tip of South America
Footage shows the mammal swimming next to the man and seemingly bumping into him as the terrified swimmer tries to get away.
Bystanders can be heard shouting in a panic, with one person throwing a paddle board towards the man to bring him to safety.
Dolphins are not typically thought to be a threat to humans, which they don’t usually see as prey.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
