Call it the ocean’s strangest rodeo.
A remarkable series of photographs from southwest England appears to show a common octopus “riding” a Risso’s dolphin — its arms wrapped around the dolphin’s tall dorsal fin as the animal swims through the water off Berry Head, Devon.
The images were captured by citizen scientist and photographer Bill Coulson, a volunteer with the University of Exeter’s Risso’s Dolphin Project South West. But the encounter wasn’t simply an adorable case of one sea creature hitching a ride on another.
It was most likely dinner fighting back.
Risso’s dolphins prey heavily on cephalopods, including squid and octopus. Coulson’s photos appear to catch the common octopus clinging to the dolphin during a predation event, creating the surreal impression that the mollusc is straddling its would-be predator.
Scientists say the photographs are more than a viral wildlife curiosity.
University of Exeter MSc researcher Josh Symes said the images offer “a fascinating glimpse into the feeding ecology of Risso’s dolphins” while also documenting changes occurring in coastal waters.
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Those changes include an extraordinary bloom of common octopus around Devon and Cornwall. Although Octopus vulgaris is native to British waters, it is normally uncommon there. The Marine Biological Association says the current surge is the largest recorded in at least 75 years, with warmer seas believed to have played an important role.
That abundance could also be changing what local predators eat.
“Shifts in the abundance of a species can ripple through the wider ecosystem,” said Marine Biological Association senior research fellow Dr. Bryce Stewart.
That’s what makes Coulson’s photograph scientifically valuable. It provides visual evidence connecting the octopus boom with the feeding behavior of Risso’s dolphins, one of Britain’s lesser-understood cetaceans.
The species itself is distinctive: blunt-headed, beakless and often heavily scarred, with individuals becoming paler as they age.
So yes, an octopus appears to be riding a dolphin.
But underneath the comedy is something more interesting: a snapshot of a marine ecosystem changing in real time — caught because one photographer happened to be watching.
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