Watch: Dolphin Surprises Paddle Boarders

TAMPA, FL — A dolphin with an uncanny sense of timing made a splash along Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard recently.

It seems the critter decided to brighten two paddle boarders’ day when it jumped out of the water in between them. It also leapt over one of the paddle boarders, easily clearing the human, before landing back in the water.

The close encounter was captured on video by a woman and her friend who were attempting to take photos using scenic Bayshore as their backdrop. The person operating the camera seemed to have some trouble with the settings, rolling video instead of taking still shots.

That revelation wasn’t lost on the would-be subject of the still shots, whose face turned to disbelief as her friend told her about the flub. “You didn’t get any of my pictures,” she asked.

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As the two discussed the fumble, the video kept rolling, capturing the dolphin as it jumped into the air. The video was posted to YouTube Friday and on Facebook.

“Just enjoying a dolphin show in my backyard,” Clo Renee said on Facebook. “This is why I love Tampa.”

Since the video was posted on several social media sites and shared by media outlets, some have questioned its authenticity.

“Obviously fake and very contrived,” wrote one commenter on the YouTube post.

“Seems staged,” wrote another.

Not everyone, however, questions the video’s legitimacy.

One poster on ABC’s Facebook page pointed out similar occurrences near Anna Maria Island involving dolphins jumping over jet skis.

Unusual animal encounters aren’t necessarily all that unusual in the Sunshine State. A woman in Lake Worth recently ran into a 5-foot black tip shark in her condominium complex’s pool and a photographer last year managed to catch a bob cat chowing down on a shark it caught for itself along a beach. While the first encounter was likely a prank, the second was no hoax, wildlife experts said.

What do you think? Let us know by commenting below!

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