【Series】 Spirits of the Kamuy landscape
In this series, the transformation of four seasons will be introduced through articles on wild animals that are active in the deep forests, marshes, and ocean as if they were being cradled by “Kamui,” which means deity in the Ainu language. The first installment in the series is the Yezo sika deer of Notsuke Peninsula. (Text and photographs by Tadanobu Shigeru from the Kushiro Branch News Secti
Special feature
【Series】 Spirits of the Kamuy landscape (43) Pacific white-sided dolphins attract females with dynamic jumps

As it reflects the sky, the Pacific Ocean in mid-summer is blue as far as the eye can see. On the calm surface, the repeated jumping of Pacific white-sided dolphins heralds the arrival of the season of heat.
I’m aboard a dolphin-watching boat as it heads to Funka Bay from the port of Muroran in central Hokkaido. A pod of dolphins with dorsal fins protruding from the surface of the water, swims slowly by. Suddenly, two or three dolphins increase their speed and jump high out of the water. Summer is the mating season for Pacific white-sided dolphins, and males try to attract females with their jumps. Rising high above the surface of the water, the dynamic splash the male creates is thought to make it popular among the females.
Both male and female dolphins are said to jump in order to help remove old skin. The pressure of the water as they splash on the surface removes dead skin and parasites, and there is evidence that the eye-catching jumps maintain their health and keep the skin smooth. Skin care is the decisive factor in being ‘popular with the ladies’, and males jump repeatedly when a pod of females is nearby.
(Worlds and photo by Shigeru Tadanobu)