Octopus hitches a ride on bottlenose dolphin

Octopus hitches a ride on bottlenose dolphin

Octopus hitching a ride on a bottlenose dolphin!! Who eventually dislodged it and ate it

After being targeted by the dolphin, the quick-thinking octopus tucked itself out of harm’s way to avoid being eaten, before hitching a ride above water

The astonishing site was captured by scientists observing four bottlenose dolphins by the island of Kalamos, off the west coast of Greece, as part of Ionian Dolphin Project

After jumping out of the water three times, in a bid to shake off the intrusive octopus, the dolphin later returned to its group without showing any obvious signs of distress

I have never seen anything like this,’ biologist Joan Gonzalvo told New Scientist

‘My hypothesis is that the dolphin might have attacked – tried to prey on the octopus – and somehow to avoid it the octopus just attached to the dolphin’s belly

‘Whales have been reported on numerous occasions to breach as a strategy to remove parasites and barnacles.’

Mr Gonzalo posted a picture of the astonishing incident on his blog where one user commented: ‘You can’t fault that octopus for knowing how to have a good time!’

The Ionian Dolphin Project is a long-term research and conservation programme providing support to dolphin conservation efforts in the Ionian Sea

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