When several dolphin pods join together, it’s known as a super pod. These can have hundreds or even thousands of dolphins all dancing through the waves
In 2013, wildlife watchers off the coast of San Diego, California, were blessed with an encounter so special they may have had to pinch themselves to believe it wasn’t a dream: their boat was reportedly surrounded by 100,000 dolphins.
Seeing even one dolphin zooming joyfully through the water beside you is enough to make you do a gleeful little squeal of delight (just me?) so seeing 100,000 of these majestic mammals must have filled them with incomprehensible awe.
Originally reported by NBC San Diego, the boat’s Captain Joe Dutra described the experience as “honestly truly beyond belief,” according to Mongabay, adding “ this is the biggest I’ve ever seen, ever.”
The group of dolphins was said to have measured around seven miles long and five miles wide. That’s around the same size as the Caribbean island of Nevis, off the coast of St. Kitts.
How many dolphins make up a super pod?
Most dolphins love to socialise and live in groups, called pods. This can be made up of just a couple of individuals or as many as around 30.
In these groups, teamwork makes the dream work and the dolphins collaborate to find and catch food, look after each other (including caring for little ones) and even teach each other the skills they need to survive.
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This is one reason communication is so important: they can use complex vocalisations to send messages to each other underwater, especially when waters are murky and they can’t see each other well.
But dolphin pods don’t stay the same size all the time. Sometimes, these groups come together with other pods to form what is known as a super pod. When this happens, there can be hundreds or even thousands of dolphins leaping through the water together for as far as the eye can see.
As if that isn’t spectacular enough, like in this instance, there can be tens of thousands or more dolphins all in the same place. Some call this a super megapod, although there doesn’t seem to be a scientific definition of the exact numbers needed to qualify for these groups.
Why do super pods form?
Although these immense gatherings might seem like random chance, there’s usually a reason so many dolphins come together in one place. That might be because they’re following an abundant food source or because they’re looking for mates.
“Superpods occur when multiple groups of dolphins converge during times of mating or hunting opportunities, though these giant groupings don’t last very long and are very rare to spot,” writes the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation on its website. “Once activity has died down, dolphins will return back to their smaller pods.”
Was this the largest super pod in the world?
This was the largest super pod Dutra had ever seen and it seems to be the largest reported. But is it the biggest dolphin super pod that has ever existed?
It’s hard to say. Super pods are made up of several pods of dolphins joining and leaving the immense group so numbers are always in flux. And who’s to say there hasn’t been an even bigger pod partying together far from the sight of humans?
Plus, how do you count thousands of dolphins accurately while each one is leaping above the surface for a moment then disappearing below the waves.
But this massive gathering is certainly a strong contender.
