In 2024, a chocolate labrador from Brazil called Cacau won the World Dog Surfing Championships at Linda Mar beach in California. Watched by a crowd of thousands, she wowed the judges with her nimble turns in the unusually rough waters of the Pacific, with a similar turn-out expected for the 2025 competition taking place today.
Cacau is just one in a long list of domestic animals taught to surf by their owners. Scour the internet and you’ll find wave-riding cats, rats and goats – but if you want to witness a pro, look no further than marine mammals.
Can animals surf?
Bryde’s whales have been filmed riding the waves off the east coast of Australia, where they use the momentum of the waves to help them feed on schools of fish. Fur seals have also been spotted surfing in the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area in South Africa.
But the undisputed ruler of the waves – with surf action all over the globe – is the dolphin. Dolphins love to surface and have been spotted riding the crests of big waves as they roll into shore, as well as the bow waves of boats as they cut through the ocean. Individuals will often jostle for the best spot, and sometimes surf in large numbers. In 2023, a group of around 30 dolphins was spotted bow-riding a catamaran off the north-west coast of Wales.
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Top image: Charlie 'Surfs Up' the labrador during the World Dog Surfing Championships in 2023. Credit: Getty
