Watch: Video of 30 dolphins surprising lone surfer near western Australia goes viral

“I sat there for about three hours waiting for something really cool to happen,” Staddon told Yahoo News Australia. “Then I saw the dolphins swimming across the horizon, and they started having a lot of fun.”

In the footage, the pod of 30 dolphins becomes visible just as a wave gains momentum, with a surfer paddling across the wave in an attempt to get out of the way. Eventually, he gets swept up and dumped from his board, with two dolphins splashing into the water near him. Staddon couldn’t believe his luck. “For me to capture that rare moment, it put a big smile on my face… I was over the moon,” he said.

 

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The stunning video has delighted millions since being shared online. “Capturing moments like this really makes me happy, and for people to also really love it makes me even happier,” Staddon said.

Reacting to the video, one user wrote, “He is lucky that these were dolphins.” A second user commented, “What a fabulous sight and lucky surfer.” And a third user said, “Bro lucky it’s not The Dolphin’s Cousin’s.”