Pod of playful dolphins spotted in Batu Ferringhi

BALIK PULAU: A pod of dolphins have been spotted frolicking in waters near Batu Ferringhi here.

The drone footage was captured by The Star photographer Chan Boon Kai who was out with his family on Sunday (April 10).

“I was with my family at the beach in front of Hard Rock Hotel in Batu Ferringhi flying my drone when I saw something in the footage,” he said.

Chan said he realised it was a pod of around 10 to 12 dolphins located about 700m from the beach.

In the one-minute, 52-second video, the dolphins are seen frolicking and breaking through the surface of the water before swimming off.

The last sighting of a similar group of dolphins was last September near the Tanjung Bungah seafront, where a group of fishermen recorded the dolphins with one of their smartphones from their boat.

Although dolphin sightings are rare in Penang, they are occasionally spotted around Batu Ferringhi, Teluk Bahang and nearby beaches.

Humpback dolphins are classified as inshore species and tend to stick closer to the shore, venturing into deeper waters when needed.

They are listed as a vulnerable species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.