This is the adorable moment a rare panda dolphin surprised tourists off the coast of Patagonia, Argentina, with a playful display next to his boat.
The footage shows the cute little dolphin, one of the smallest species in the world, grunting in the water while apparently taking an interest in the boat.
He turns around in the water and begins swimming to port to apparently greet the tourists who peek over the edge to take a look.
The video was filmed by Argentine documentary filmmaker Luis Burgueño, 60, who lives in Trelew, in northeastern Patagonia.
Burgueño, who is also a wildlife photographer, said the small animal was with a group of other panda dolphins at the time.
‘This one was with other specimens around the boat and the encounter lasted longer than what is seen in the video,’ he said.
“He stayed with us for quite a while longer.
“But I never realized that he turned to point his abdominal area upwards, which is a gesture of complete confidence, since it is his most vulnerable area.”
A rare panda dolphin surprised tourists off the coast of Patagonia, Argentina, with a playful display next to his boat.
The video was filmed by Argentine documentary filmmaker Luis Burgueño, 60, who lives in Trelew, in northeastern Patagonia.
The Commerson’s dolphin, also known as the panda or skunk dolphin, resembles a baby orca due to its distinctive black and white color.
Burgueño’s video went viral on his Instagram page with a whopping 21.2 million views and almost 6,000 comments.
The Commerson’s dolphin, also known as the panda or skunk dolphin, resembles a baby orca due to its distinctive black and white color.
It is only found at the tip of South America.
A subspecies, Cckerguelenensis, which is slightly larger than Cccommersonii, is found around the Kerguelen Islands in the Indian Ocean.
It comes after a sexually frustrated dolphin was filmed last month allegedly attacking a swimmer while swimming in the sea near the city of Tsuruga in central Japan.
Footage shows the cute little dolphin grunting in the water while seemingly taking an interest in the boat.
Common dolphins can only be found at the tip of South America.
Footage shows the mammal swimming alongside the man and apparently crashing into him as the terrified swimmer tries to escape.
Bystanders can be heard screaming in panic, and one person throws a paddleboard toward the man to pull him to safety.
Dolphins are not generally thought of as a threat to humans, whom they do not normally view as prey.