Stunning drone footage captures a huge pod of dolphins off the coast of Florida

An armature drone photographer captured stunning footage of a dolphin pod swimming through the crystal-blue waters off the coast of Florida.

Local restaurant owner Paul Dabill, 48, filmed approximately 50 dolphins while ‘looking for life to film’ around Jupiter last week.

The mesmerizing video shows the marine animals diving in and out of the sea and playing keep-away with a strand of sargassum seaweed.

Dabill said he spent 30 minutes filing the pod, one of the largest he had seen. 

The clip was captured on January 18, when the skies were clear and the ocean was blue. 

Bottlenose dolphins are regular visitors to the coast near Jupiter, but are usually seen in smaller groups. 

‘I’ve seen pods of bottlenose dolphins before, but this one was special because it was so large,’ Dabill told SWNS.

‘Most pods in the area are much smaller with less than 15 or so’

‘Some of the juvenile dolphins were playing with bits of sargassum seaweed. They were frolicking in the water and appeared to be having a great time.’

‘The dolphins are even seen playing games and chasing one another in the water.’

Dabill describes himself as an underwater photographer and spearfisherman who has captured an extensive gallery of stunning marine life.

Last October, he shared an incredible moment when hundreds of fish formed a swirling heart shape in the ocean.

The group of crevalle jack swam in formation before dispersing in the glistening turquoise water. 

Dabill captured the aquatic display while flying his DJI Mavic Air 2 drone off Juno Beach. 

‘I was looking for mullet, this time of year is the fall mullet migration,’ Dabill later explained.

‘There were no mullet at the beach this day however I found the school of jack crevalles instead.

This video was taken on October 5, and Dabill posted it to his Facebook photography page, where viewers were impressed.

‘So cool that you captured that daisy chaining crevalle school this time of year as they usually only do that off the SE FL (South East Florida) beaches in early spring,’ user Ray Jimenez wrote.

Mike McCullah also commented: ‘That’s amazing!’.

In his post, Dabill mentioned seeing tarpon and glass minnows in the area.

The restaurant owner has also captured stunning aerial views of a manta ray, shark and other creatures with his drone.

‘Oh you are so lucky again Paul, you must attract all the big creatures,’ user Sandy Loper commented on another video.

Bottlenose dolphins are fascinating to scientists, primarily due to their social behavior. 

These majestic creatures form special bonds, network and even have their own accent. 

A study in March 2022 found bottlenose dolphins have signature whistles that they use to identify each other, which are unique to each animal. 

Separate research revealed in June found female dolphins have a functional clitoris that is similar to that of a human

A team of scientists led by Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts found bottlenose dolphins have a clitoris-like structure in the vaginal entrance that includes sensory nerves and erectile bodies.

For the study, researchers conducted a detailed analysis of the clitorises of 11 females that had died naturally and found strong evidence to support the organ’s functionality.

This work revealed many similarities between the dolphin’s structure and a female human’s clitoris, specifically the erectile tissue looks like that of a human, which means it likely plays a role in providing pleasure.

Within the dolphin’s tissue is space for blood to rush, allowing the area to inflate and the clitoris-like structure to become hard.