Watch This Beautiful Dolphin Birth

Take a closer look at that photo there. How many dolphins do you see? At first glance, the answer’s obvious— there are two distinct adult dolphins swimming about this tank. But look a little closer. How many dolphin tails do you see? The eagle-eyed among you will see it: there are THREE dolphin tails in this picture . . . because one of them is giving birth!

Yes, friends, we’re witnessing the miracle of life, aquatic mammal style. When the world seems totally crazy, it can be soothing to witness something so incredible, and to see nature taking its course regardless of the crazy things going on in our complicated human lives. (Plus, baby animals are the cutest, and who doesn’t need a dose of that in her life?) When in doubt, turn to the natural world.

There’s something particularly entrancing about this dolphin birth. A lot of it probably has to do with the similarities to human birth. Dolphins are mammals, after all – the term “dolphin” originates in ancient Greek and basically meant “fish with a womb” – and so instead of hatching their young from eggs, dolphins must give birth in a way similar to us humans— and they have to do it while swimming.

Yes, the reason there are three tails and not three dolphins in that photo, is because one of them has just gone into labor, and it starts with the tail. According to the Dolphin Research Center in Florida, “Babies are usually born tail first, weigh [25 to 40 pounds], and are generally three to four feet long.” (Ouch, right?!) So the mother just kind of swims about for a bit, looking – if you didn’t know better – like she has an extra tail growing out of her belly.

Luckily for that mother, she has some help in this birthing process. That second, non-pregnant dolphin you see there is another female, acting as a kind of cetacean midwife. The Dolphin Research Center explains:

Groupings of females with calves occur naturally in the wild. [. . .] It is important to have other females available to a mother dolphin. Female dolphins have been seen assisting in birth, and more consistently as baby-sitters or aunties helping to rear young dolphins. One of the best ways a female dolphin can learn how to care for a calf is to be around a baby and other more experienced females.

How great is that? We’ve known for a while now that dolphins are incredibly intelligent, so the fact that they have friendships and a support community for new moms in a similar way to people is just another level of amazing.

As for the rest of the dolphin birthing process? After the tail’s out, it seems like it’s actually a pretty quick process! We don’t want to spoil it too much for you, so watch the whole thing in this video from CLIKATV.

One minute it’s just a tail sticking out of its mother, the next minute— baby dolphin! The mother and the midwife help it to the surface to take its first breaths, and then it starts learning how to swim, survive, and enjoy that dolphin life. Totally natural, and absolutely beautiful.

Have you ever seen anything like this dolphin birth before? What are some other amazing nature miracles you’ve witnessed? Which baby animals are your favorites?