Dolphins Caught on Video Playing Soccer With Jellyfish

Marine biologists off the coast of Wales witnessed a bottlenose dolphin swimming under a jellyfish and flicking it six feet in the air with its tail, apparently engaging in a playful game of soccer. Not only is this a previously unseen behavior in marine mammals, it's also the only form of soccer that could conceivably take off in America.

The team of scientists from the Sea Watch Foundation were studying a group of 150 bottlenose dolphins that congregate in the Cardigan Bay off the Welsh coast every summer to breed and feed. They say the jellyfish-kicking behavior may explain why dolphins are so good at playing games in captivity.

"One thing is for sure, they were having fun," said Jonathan Easter, who saw the activity firsthand. "There were floating blobs of jelly and the dolphins were flipping them about. They were not always accurate but when they had a direct hit the jellyfish were literally kicked out of the water."

Though the dolphin soccer game was certainly a groundbreaking discovery, it reportedly went on too long and ended in a tie.

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