Black Cat Cruises guide Laura Hansen captured this amazing photo of a dolphin ‘spy-hopping’ in Akaroa Harbour.
Jason Hagedorn, from Chicago, was swimming with dolphins when the dolphin raised vertically out of the water for an eye to eye encounter.
Spy-hopping is the term given to a dolphin or whale raising its head vertically out of the water. The animal rotates slowly to view the surrounding area, before sinking quietly back below the surface.
“The dolphin did a couple of spy-hops and was really into this swimmer. The dolphin also did some ‘logging’ which is coming to a complete halt in the water and eyeballing the swimmer which is quite unusual behaviour.”