Swimming alongside the Wild Bottlenose Pod

Bimini, Bahamas 2006

(free photos to download for your personal use - Please keep the copyright intact)

Hello Friends!

The last four days have been incredible... I've swam with this pod of bottlenose and gotten close to them in the most magical ways... these photos may give you an idea of the energy we shared... it grew every time I swam with them...

Bottlenose in the wild have a reputation as being shy. Here in Bimini, they sometimes let you hang out with them when they're feeding. Over these couple days, the members of this pod got very comfortable with me, and each day they came a little closer...

I could write a book about this week, each hour with them a chapter... we talked in the way of all interspecies communication, with the heart.

I nicknamed them as their shapes and scars suggested. The three most playful are Scallop, named from the scalloped edge on his right pectoral flipper, Z, for her z-shaped pectoral fin , and Jaws, from the big crescent scars on his side.

As you get to know them, remember we're all one, and give yourself permission to belong with me to this pod.

When i first join up with a pod of bottlenose, knowing how shy they can be compared to the gregarious spotted dolphins i swim with here, i move in slowly, watching to see how comfortable they are with my presence. I'll stay on the surface, not diving down into their space, content to watch from above. They dive down for several minutes at a time, catching three, four, five fish each time. My heart starts racing as they head upward, swimming so gracefully to the surface to breath. Once on top, they take three or four deep breaths before returning to the bottom, which out here averages 20 to 40 feet deep.

The bottlenose often swing by to check me out when they come up to breath. Sometimes they come straight up to me, turning only ten feet away, scanning me the whole time. Often i can feel and hear their sonar, and when i do, i energetically open my aura to greet them. Sometimes, i'll sense there are others behind me, scanning me with sonar. When i spin around to see, they turn away like shy school kids.

I watch for the dolphins who come closest, and if they give me a good look in the eye, i follow them from the surface as they work their way along the bottom. Then i'm nearby when they next come up for air....

As they head up, i beam them positive energy. I tell them how much i appreciate them and bath them, the pod and the whole ocean with love. I get so worked up i end up blessing everyone and everything. I'm getting a lift just thinking about it!

As they surface, i watch and feel, following their lead. If they turn away, i keep my distance. Inevitably one comes close, and as he closes the gap between us, my heart starts racing and i send out an invitation to play. I become a puppy, wiggling my head, my shoulders, my whole body, ready to dive, twist and turn if the invitation is returned.

As it was with this pod. Day after day they grew closer, until yesterday when every single time they came up for air, they each came over to play with me. It got so i'd dive down to greet them on the way up, we'd meet halfway and start swimming around each other, my smile causing water to leak in my snorkel.

Then we'd swim together, me with heart pounding and camera clicking, waves of good energy billowing amongst us. Most of the time, we'd swim fast and dive around each other. Sometimes I got dizzy from doing so many underwater spins.

Bottlenose here feed on small fish called sand dabs that live in the sand. The dolphins scan the bottom with their sonar, and when the detect a fish, they blast the fish right thru the sand with their sonar, stunning him. Then they 'crater feed', digging a round hole in the sand with their rostrum (nose) as they spin their whole body in a circle with powerful kicks of their fluke. Once they get the fish, they flip him up with a quick toss of the head and wham, he's gone in a gulp.

Usually the dolphins would come up from the bottom in two's and three's, and we'd make a big splash on the surface, zooming in and around each other. As soon as they'd dive, i'd be gasping for air, winded from our topside playful sprint, welcoming the opportunity to catch my breath as they hunted below.

Then they started coming up one at a time. I had no choice but to temper my antics, and switched into a mellower mood, sublime and serene. I still feel how gentle our time together became, looking at these pictures.

         It's my pleasure sharing these experiences with you. Please keep the dolphins and the oceans in your loving heart and thoughts.

Salu!

Joe