Dolphin 'stampede' unrelated to volcanic activity in Mexico

This article is more than one year old.
Published on November 17, 2023 at 18:00
2 min read
By AFP USA

After one of the world's most active volcanoes spewed ash into the sky near Mexico City in November 2023, social media users shared a clip purportedly showing a pod of dolphins fleeing the eruption. This is false; the video was taken off the coast of the US state of California in 2021.

"#BREAKING #UPDATE - MUST SEE - A VIDEO captured in #Mexico shows a pack of hundreds of #Dolphins swimming in large pods as #Popocatepetl erupted earlier today," says a November 14, 2023 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The post includes a clip, apparently taken from a boat, showing dozens of dolphins swimming at sea.

Screenshot of an X post taken November 16, 2023

The same claim circulated elsewhere on X as Popocatepetl, nicknamed "El Popo," spewed thick clouds of ash November 13, according to Mexico's National Disaster Prevention Center (archived here). The volcano, located about 45 miles from landlocked Mexico City, has seen various periods of activity since awakening from decades-long slumber in 1994.

Volcanoes can affect marine life -- but the clip shared online is unrelated to the recent eruption in Mexico.

A reverse image search surfaced several news articles with the same video shared out of context on X (archived here and here).

According to the reports, it was taken in March 2021 near Dana Point off the coast of southern California -- roughly 1,400 miles away from Popocatepetl.

The outlets credit the clip to Dana Wharf, a sea excursion company that posted identical footage to YouTube on March 19, 2021 (archived here).

"This mega pod or super pod of common dolphins take off while our Whale Watching boat is viewing them this behavior is known as the Dolphin Stampede," the description says.

David Weller, director of the Marine Mammal and Turtle Division at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told AFP the clip shows common behavior for dolphins.

"It is very frequent that they assemble in large schools, hundreds and sometimes thousands. They are highly social and gregarious," he said November 15.

"What was filmed is typical directional travel. This species is speedy and when in good numbers and traveling together create whitewater on the sea surface in their wake."

AFP contacted Dana Wharf to confirm the origin and location of the footage shared online, but a response was not forthcoming.

Decades-long volcanic activity

Alejandra Arciniega Ceballos, a volcanologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said in a November 16 email that there was "no relation at all" between the swimming dolphins and Popocatepetl's recent activity.

Roughly 25 million people live within a 60-mile radius of the volcano, one of the world's most monitored.

"Since its awakening in December 1994, Popocatepetl has been presenting a wide range of eruptive activities, from small emissions of gases and ash to Strombolian and Vulcanian eruptions," Arciniega Ceballos said.

"This week, activity increased but still within the range of previous observations."

AFP has debunked other claims about a similar pod of dolphins supposedly fleeing a storm.

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