A dramatic video capturing thousands of dolphins charging across the waters of California has gone viral on TikTok, offering a rare glimpse of nature in motion en masse.
The video, captured on October 16 by professional wildlife photographer Domenic Biagini (@dolphindronedom), shows a “dolphin stampede”—a synchronized, high-speed movement of thousands of dolphins racing through the water.
The video has amassed a whopping 3.2 million views since it was posted online on October 19.
A caption shared with the clip, which was filmed near the San Diego-Mexican border, says: “5,000 dolphins in a stampede: one of the most awe-inspiring spectacles on earth!”
“Yesterday, we experienced one of the greatest wildlife spectacles in all of nature,” Biagini says in the video.
As the camera captures a massive school of dolphins tearing across the ocean’s surface, he says: “What’s that sound? It’s not a boat–it’s a stampede.”
The video later switches to an aerial view, showing a megapod of dolphins, all moving in synchrony across the water.
Biagini, 33, owns and operates Gone Whale Watching, a whale watching company in San Diego. His work credits have included National Geographic’s Ocean with David Attenborough, NBC’s The Americas narrated by Tom Hanks, and the upcoming Blue Planet III on BBC.
Biagini told Newsweek that this particular encounter stood out, even though he is a seasoned marine photographer.
“To see a group of that size take off in every direction at the same time is genuinely breathtaking,” he explained. “We just happened to be positioned in a way where one section of that megapod was heading right towards us, and I think you can almost hear the gleeful anticipation in my voice during the video.”
“With no engine noise, you could hear the incredible rumble of the pod tearing across the surface,” he added. “It’s not common to be sitting still on the ocean, being engulfed by dolphins charging in a mad dash.”
While dolphin stampedes are not unheard of, the sheer scale of this event was extraordinary. “A normal-sized pod of common dolphins is somewhere between 100 to 500,” Biagini explained. “This was a megapod somewhere between 2,000 to 7,000.”
These mass movements, often referred to as “stampedes,” can happen for several reasons.
“In general, dolphins usually stampede for one of two reasons—they are racing towards an active feeding area to hunt, or they themselves are being hunted,” Biagini said. “There are also times they do it for no apparent reason…perhaps it’s like ‘practice.’ In this instance, it’s because orcas were in the area.”
Dolphins are social animals that gather in groups ranging from five to several thousand, and some species are known to follow and leap alongside ships..
A January 2023 article from travel publisher Matador Network noted that dolphin stampedes “typically happen relatively close to shore due to the presence of food sources like fish”—and it often looks like they’re “racing each other, occasionally leaping out of the water in a maneuver known as ‘porpoising’ that allows them to gain incredible momentum.”
Though scientists have yet to pinpoint a single explanation for the phenomenon, theories include coordinated hunting and the need for safety in numbers, according to the Matador Network.
For Biagini, who is on the water nearly every day, encounters like these are part of the job—but that doesn’t make them any less extraordinary.
“As a professional wildlife photographer, I definitely have experienced this encounter more than the average person,” he said.
“Being on the water nearly every day, I probably see some version of a dolphin stampede once or twice a month. Most of those, however, do not feature quite so many dolphins for such a prolonged period of time.”
Viewers on TikTok were blown away by the dramatic spectacle captured in the viral clip.
Dee said, “Amazing!! I’d probably cry if I seen this in person!!”. Rosario Perez said, “What an incredible moment you witnessed.”
ATL Powersports King wrote, “Such incredible footage never seen that many dolphins,” and user1444328681088 said, “I got goosebumps! Can't imagine actually seeing this!!!”
Milla 🇧🇻 recalled: “I was lucky to witness this, a couple of years ago in the Canary Islands. It's surreal seeing so many at once. 10 min later we also met a huge whale. That was a day to remember.”
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