Dolphins launch deadly attack on doomed porpoise in front of boatload of stunned wildlife fans off Welsh coast

• Eight bottlenose dolphins beat up a little porpoise off the Ceredigion coast
• The deadly encounter was described as ‘morbidly rare’
• A couple of passengers wanted to reach out and offer the animal sanctuary 

Dolphin spotters were left stunned when they witnessed a group of the mammals killing a little porpoise for fun.

On August 22, a group of nine sightseers set off from the West Wales coast at 6.35pm for an hour sunset dolphin watching cruise.

As the dolphin-watching group returned to the Ceredigion shore, the group began to witness some action in the water.

The group accompanied by SeaMôr wildlife guides Andy Walsh and Josh Pedley saw eight bottlenose dolphins beating up the remarkedly smaller porpoise, as they approached.

The touring company stated it was ‘morbidly rare’ to be present at such an incident. 

Passengers were left shocked by the pod of dolphins charging towards the defenceless porpoise (pictured). 

Dolphin spotters were with wildlife tour company SeaMôr when the eight dolphins battered the small aquatic animal (pictured). They described the encounter as ‘morbidly rare’

The porpoise attack by the eight deadly dolphins last just under ten minutes (pictured)

Brett Stones, 44,  owner of SeaMôr, said: ‘Because dolphins and porpoise look similar they went over, but they realised the dolphins were actually in the process of beating up a porpoise.’

According to Mr Pedley, the deadly attack lasted under ten minutes.

READ MORE: Stunning moment a shark leaped out of the sea to stun wildlife watchers hoping to spot dolphins from nearby boat off Welsh coast

He claimed that the porpoise ‘stood no chance’ as when the group turned to see the mammals charging towards the small aquatic creature.

In this moment, all they could see was ‘white water erupt[ing]’, according to Mr Pedler.

He told the Western Telegraph: ‘The porpoise on multiple occasions tried to use our boat as shelter and hide underneath us. 

‘This gave us unparalleled viewing of the action.

‘The dolphins eventually got bored and we watched on in disbelief as the porpoise took its last breaths alongside our boat.

‘This was naturally very sad for the porpoise.’

Despite bottlenose dolphins having  a reputation of being ‘cute and cuddly animals’ they can also be quite ‘aggressive’.

A porpoise is a small aquatic mammal, also classified as a toothed whale. There are up to seven different types of porpoise, all of which are endangered. 

Mr Stones told MailOnline: ‘A bit of competition for food and element of dolphins being a bit nasty is part of it.

‘Sometimes they will kill younger dolphins to bring female dolphins into heat’

The company owner who has never seen such an incident in his 27 years of running trips stated: 

‘It is quite rare for it to be seen, but does it happen a lot? We are not a 100 percent sure. The ocean is so massive, we only see a tiny snippet of it.’ 

Wildlife guide, Mr Pedley echoed this statement: ‘We’ve talked about porpicide, and we hear about it, but it was almost spoken about mythically.’

Recalling the reactions of those who witnessed the porpicide once they came to shore, Mr Stones said: 

‘They were a mixture of being excited but also having to witness events like that can be traumatic.

The porpoise took its final breath alongside their boat according to wildlife guide Josh Pedley

Some passengers wanted to offer the animal a ‘cwtch’ (hug) during the ‘traumatic’ event according to SeaMôr owner Brett Stones

‘A couple people wanted to reach out and cwtch (hug) the animal and offer it sanctuary. We are always root for the underdog.’

Mr Pedley told the BBC: ‘All the passengers were fantastic, we had the right people on’

The tour guide also revealed that people on board were querying about porpicide shortly before it happened in the flesh.

There was a mixed bag of reactions to the incident on social media according to the team. 

Some were left devastated by the unfortunate passing of the porpoise. with one commenting: ‘Omg how heart-breaking can nature be. I’m so very glad I didn’t witness this but I know it’s life.’

Another said: ‘So sad but that’s the way of the animal world.’

Others congratulated them on the footage saying: ‘Wow amazing. Thanks for this.’

Another quipped: ‘Awesome photos, nature is brutal as well as beautiful.’ 

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