The team of Professor Zhu Qian from Shandong University released a rare video in which the Chinese white dolphin, a first-class protected animal in China, surfed the bow. This video was shot in Jiangmen Chinese White Dolphin Provincial Nature Reserve, west of the Pearl River Estuary. The picture shows a trawler churning the waves at sea and a group of dolphins swimming happily in front of it. This group of Chinese white dolphins approached the boat actively and used the pressure wave at the bow to save energy when swimming. In addition, it is also a way for dolphins to play and entertain. He said:? Bow riding is common in some bottlenose dolphins and real dolphins, but relatively rare in Chinese white dolphins. ? This video taken by a drone is the first clear picture of dolphin behavior.

In fact, this group of dolphins approached the fishing boat by themselves. Members of the research team once said. Is there a technical term to describe this phenomenon? Braving the wind and waves? . When a ship sails, a part of the water in the bow will form a pressure wave, which will push and lift, and the dolphins can be pushed forward and upward by the waves. Here? Power? Now, dolphins can swim very comfortably without flapping their tail fins, just making some small adjustments to their pectoral fins.

Bow gliding is very common among pelagic dolphins (such as pelagic true dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and whirlpool dolphins). ), but it is rare in offshore dolphins (such as Chinese white dolphins). This is the first time that the research team has used drones to clearly show the humpback behavior of Chinese white dolphins, which has been observed several times before. In fact, as early as the great era of navigation, sailors noticed the behavior of dolphins riding the wind and waves with their bows. It is speculated that dolphins hitchhiked at that time to save labor for long-distance migration. With the deepening of research, the researchers found that some dolphins living in the bay will follow one boat to one place, and then follow another boat to another place, so this behavior may be an entertainment game.

According to the report, the research team began to use drones as an auxiliary tool to conduct field investigations on Chinese white dolphins from 20 18. With the help of drones, researchers can clearly observe the behavior and quantity of Chinese white dolphins from the air. In addition to riding the wind and waves at the bow, Chinese white dolphins at the Pearl River Estuary will also follow the stern of fishing boats, but in most cases, the purpose is not to ride the wind and waves, but to get food more easily, the research team observed. Although this video shows the relaxed interaction between dolphins and fishing boats, some dolphins in the Pearl River Estuary have left obvious scars because they are entangled in fishing nets, so we need to continue to pay attention to the relationship between fishing boats and dolphins.