Spectacular 'Dolphin Stampede' footage stirs an array of emotions

A video titled "Dana Point Dolphin Stampede," showing perhaps 2,000 common dolphins in a frenetic charge alongside a Southern California whale-watching boat, is stirring emotions ranging from awe to dismay as it gets passed around on the Internet.

The spectacle, filmed last week aboard the Dana Pride out of Orange County, Calif., has made local and national news and the footage has led some to fall under the impression that the dolphins were being frightened or even struck by the vessel, even though common dolphins are known to approach boats in large numbers and veteran ocean-goers witness this type of event fairly frequently.

"I want to know why the boat didn't stop instead of plowing through those dolphins? I wonder how many of them got hit," reads a comment beneath a video report on the Weather Channel website.

D_R_Pinksron's analysis:
Dolphins don't typically act like this. Really strange. First thing I thought when I saw the video is that some kind of natural disaster is in the works, such as an earthquake, since animals are more sensative to minor changes around them. Maybe, I don't know, but it may be worth keeping an eye on.