Beautiful dolphin photos are posted just about every day, it seems, on social media pages. That's because dolphins are so abundant off Southern California.
But on Thursday Capt. Frank Brennan captured a rare image showing an offshore bottlenose dolphin carrying in its mouth, and possibly eating, a large fish.
Brennan was piloting the Dana Wharf Whale Watch catamaran on its 5 p.m. trip. They were about three miles beyond San Onofre when he and a crewman spotted the dolphin emerge at the surface with what they identified as a white seabass in its mouth.
It was one of an estimated 100 dolphins, spread over a vast area.
It's not clear if the dolphin captured a fresh seabass or whether it had recently been thrown back by nearby fishermen.Brennan, however, said the dolphin carried the 10- to 15-pound fish around as though it were "a dog's chew toy" before submerging, possibly to finish its meal.
Bottlenose dolphins sometimes prey on fairly large bottom fish, but are rarely seen or photographed off Southern California with large fish in their mouths.
Definitely the most peculiar dolphin photo of the season.
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