Viral SA video shows feeding frenzy in the ocean, not dolphins protecting whales from sharks

It says the dolphins “stayed with her until she and her baby were safe and then brought them both to safety.”

Many of the commentators described the alleged events as “amazing” and “a great story.”

Others said the post was misleading people with an emotional story to increase engagement.

Last year, AFP Fact Check debunked a story claiming that the ocean drama captured in the clip was “unusual” behavior and a sign of an impending natural disaster.

The latest claim has also taken the video out of context.

Feeding frenzy

When the video surfaced on social media last year, Facebook users in the comments section shared articles and videos from 2021 about a feeding frenzy near Cape Town off the coast of Fish Hoek, False Bay (archived here and here).

The clip is similar to others filmed on March 28, 2021, showing schools of sardines and anchovies in False Bay – a phenomenon known as the “sardine run” that attracts predators and many divers to the country (archived here, here and here).

“We saw the giant pod of dolphins and decided to follow them. As we were following them, we saw the other half of the giant pod of dolphins swimming from Muizenberg beach,” Kade Tame told local online publication Cape Town Etc about the footage he took at the time (archived here).

“Then we realized that it was the same capsule and [they] We did this for a specific reason (to collect fish). Before we knew it, white water was everywhere and the most spectacular feeding began.”

Although the video in the misleading 2024 post does not exactly match Tame's, it shows the same events from March 2021.

Similarities include a man wearing a pink shirt and red buff, the whale jumping out of the water, and the same two yellow fishing rods next to a black one in the same location.

Whales

Dolphins are social creatures and typically hunt fish in schools, using a sophisticated technique to collect and eat fish (archived here).

They hunt in groups in which each dolphin plays a role: the dolphin circles a school of fish and the other members of the pod form barriers to prevent the fish from escaping, maximizing feeding opportunities for everyone.