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 Water is the perfect medium for flowing acrobatics. Watch a seahorse sway back and forth or a jelly drift in an ocean current and it is nothing short of beautiful. But the ocean animals that really get our attention are those that we see leaping above the water. Here are three that could easily win the gold for water ballet. Which wins your vote?
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Humpback Whale
Weighing in at 40 tons and 50 feet, this humpback whale doesn't exactly fit the profile of light and elegant. But when it leaps out of the water and arcs up toward the sky, this humpback looks like a graceful water acrobat. For its next routine, it will swim on its back with both flippers in the air, roll over, and slap its flippers on the water. And for the grand finale: It will slam its huge tail on the surface of the ocean and dive underwater. Oh, did we tell you it sings, too? |
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Spinner Dolphins
Named for the way they leap into the air and spin around, spinner dolphins can make up to 14 spins in a row before splashing back down into the water. They can even do somersaults! |
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Manta Ray
The manta ray can leap up to 5 feet out of the water, emerging headfirst to revolve in a slow, breathtaking cartwheel before falling back into the sea. A manta ray's huge fins look like wings and span up to 20 feet. Manta means cloak in Spanish. So when a manta is jumping in the air, perhaps one could call it the "flying" cloak." |
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