Dolphins are caught on camera playing football using a JELLYFISH in Wales [video]

This is the moment playful bottlenose dolphins used jellyfish as a football. 

Dafydd Lewis, 50, a skipper on dolphin-spotting boat trips, from New Quay, Wales, filmed the animals playing in Cardigan Bay.

In the video shared on January 24, a dolphin bounces the barrel jellyfish in and out of the water on its nose, while another one flicks the fish in the air with its tail. 

New Quay is one of the best places in the UK to see bottlenose dolphins and those seen at Cardigan Bay are larger than the ones that can be seen in Florida or Mexico, said Dafydd Lewis, who filmed the dolphins’ game

The dolphin flicks the jellyfish with its tail in the video filmed by Dafydd Lewis from New Quay in Wales

Mr Lewis saw that the dolphins were in a playful mood so decided to take the videos.   

The 50-year-old said: ‘The dolphins were swimming alongside the boat for about a mile and the next second one of the dolphins had thrown the barrel jellyfish into the air and out of the water using its nose.

‘Then another launched one of the barrel jellyfish out the water using its tail.

‘The barrel jellyfish can weigh an average of 32kg and come into Cardigan Bay in swarms during the spring to summer months. 

 Large splashes are seen as the animal repeatedly uses the jellyfish as a football and both resurface from underwater multiple times

The dolphins jumped in and out of the water playfully with the jellyfish

‘We often see this behaviour when the dolphins are in a playful mood. I have even seen them coming out of the water wearing the jellyfish as a hat.

‘The passengers were in awe of the display. People who have seen the videos are flabbergasted by them.

‘As I took the video, I was so chuffed to have caught it on film.’

Mr Lewis said that New Quay is one of the best places in the UK to see bottlenose dolphins and those seen at Cardigan Bay are larger than the ones that can be seen in Florida or Mexico.

The dolphins have to put on a lot of fat or blubber to keep them warm in the cold winter months and in the cold waters of Cardigan Bay.   

Mr Lewis said: ‘Over the years I have seen some truly wonderful sights and I am still excited to see the dolphins.

‘I am still in awe of their displays which never tire me.

‘Seeing them in the wild and in their own natural environment is a truly wonderful experience compared to seeing them in captivity.

‘They are very sociable creatures and often come to join the boats by swimming alongside us.’

Mr Lewis said of the dolphins: ‘I am still in awe of their displays which never tire me’

Mr Lewis (pictured with his son Lestyn) said that the dolphins are ‘very sociable creatures’ and often swim alongside the boats