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Dolphins seem to find this quite entertaining to do. There are many charter boats in Florida that garuntee dolphin bow riding sightings, and they don't feed the

Dolphins seem to find this quite entertaining to do. There are many charter boats in Florida that garuntee dolphin bow riding sightings, and they don't feed the dolphins or anything like that I'm aware of. They just drive around and the dolphins are eager to show up.

e28eta 4y ago
A thing I noticed about “guarantees” with tours similar to those, is they don’t refund money, they offer a future tour for free (non-transferable). So the guarantee is a signal that it’s likely to happen, but if I’m in the area on vacation, I’m very unlikely to use the guarantee. Who wants to do the same event again on your limited time, even if they aren’t already booked up? And knowing this it changes my expectation from “definitely seeing this” to “yeah, probably”
- gabereiser 4y ago
  Except where I am, it's a guarantee. Indian River Lagoon is a known nursing ground for bottlenose dolphins. Something like 1,000+ call it home.
- IIAOPSW 4y ago
  I know someone who went on 3 whale not-watching tours in a row. It was pretty hilarious.
  - walterbell 4y ago
    Was that typical for the tour area?
    - IIAOPSW 4y ago
      nope. bad cosmic dice rolls
SoftTalker 4y ago
Enough people probably do feed the dolphins that they are enticed to any boat, just in case. Irregular rewards are the most powerful motivators.
- pvaldes 4y ago
  In my experience they just enjoy the free ride while traveling towards open sea. Like a skater hanging from a pickup. They save a lot of energy in the process probably. They seem also to enjoy to watch the humans while doing that. One of the few wild big animals that will freely approach humans and look you in the eye.
gabereiser 4y ago
All along the Indian River in Florida you can find them in the spring and early summer. They are just inquisitive of humans and have come to see them as supportive. They can be territorial though. When I sail my boat, I love seeing them ride with my bow and guide me out to see. It's like a good luck charm or something. I throw them a fish as I go. Amazing animals. Super intelligent.
darksaints 4y ago
One thing I have noticed as a sailor is that they have a strong preference towards bow riding with sailboats over motorboats. They will do it happily with both, but if they have a choice they will almost always choose the sailboat. My guess is it has something to do with propeller noise.

e28eta 4y ago

A thing I noticed about “guarantees” with tours similar to those, is they don’t refund money, they offer a future tour for free (non-transferable). So the guarantee is a signal that it’s likely to happen, but if I’m in the area on vacation, I’m very unlikely to use the guarantee. Who wants to do the same event again on your limited time, even if they aren’t already booked up? And knowing this it changes my expectation from “definitely seeing this” to “yeah, probably”

gabereiser 4y ago
Except where I am, it's a guarantee. Indian River Lagoon is a known nursing ground for bottlenose dolphins. Something like 1,000+ call it home.
IIAOPSW 4y ago
I know someone who went on 3 whale not-watching tours in a row. It was pretty hilarious.
- walterbell 4y ago
  Was that typical for the tour area?
  - IIAOPSW 4y ago
    nope. bad cosmic dice rolls

SoftTalker 4y ago

Enough people probably do feed the dolphins that they are enticed to any boat, just in case. Irregular rewards are the most powerful motivators.

pvaldes 4y ago
In my experience they just enjoy the free ride while traveling towards open sea. Like a skater hanging from a pickup. They save a lot of energy in the process probably. They seem also to enjoy to watch the humans while doing that. One of the few wild big animals that will freely approach humans and look you in the eye.

gabereiser 4y ago

All along the Indian River in Florida you can find them in the spring and early summer. They are just inquisitive of humans and have come to see them as supportive. They can be territorial though. When I sail my boat, I love seeing them ride with my bow and guide me out to see. It's like a good luck charm or something. I throw them a fish as I go. Amazing animals. Super intelligent.

darksaints 4y ago

One thing I have noticed as a sailor is that they have a strong preference towards bow riding with sailboats over motorboats. They will do it happily with both, but if they have a choice they will almost always choose the sailboat. My guess is it has something to do with propeller noise.