(SOUNDBITE OF THE BEACH BOYS SONG, "SURFIN' U.S.A.")
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
And another note about one of nature's marvels to help close out the year. What's described as a stampede of about 5,000 long-beaked common dolphins leapt through waves off Dana Point in Southern California this week. There is such joy when you see these animals. You can't help but laugh out loud, Gisele Anderson told the Orange County Register. The mega-pod was captured on video by Loriannah Hespe, a retired San Juan Capistrano nurse, who said, we were surrounded by dolphins at least a mile in every direction.
And why dolphins gather for such spontaneous ocean stampedes is a wonder. Some theories hold that they're evading predators like orcas or racing after another pod of dolphins. It was the most amazing encounter I've ever seen, Hespe told the Orange County Register. There were young ones, old ones and babies. And they were all going really fast, which sounds a lot like life.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE BEACH BOYS SONG, "SURFIN' U.S.A.") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
