Dolphins are known to engage in interspecies play, but here’s an example of some accidental interspecies foreplay. While observing bottlenoses last week off of the Greek island of Kalamos, biologist Joan Gonzalvo of the Ionian Dolphin Project photographed this, ahem, unique shot of a dolphin receiving the tender touch of cephalopod. Explains Gonzalvo of this unintentional chimera:
One of the individuals of the group surprised us leaping out of the water with an unexpected guest attached to its belly (right on top of its genital slit!) […] After this high leap, presumably executed to get rid of this intrusive octopus, the dolphin continued to swim with the other three members of its group without manifesting any signs of distress […]
You can see more photos here. For a tangentially related tale of Flipperotica, see the sultry human-on-cetacean action of Wet Goddess.
