These Glow-In-The-Dark Dolphins Are Taking Over Instagram

As the world continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic, a pair of “glow-in-the-dark” dolphins are offering social media a bit of awe-inspiring zen. In a video shared to Instagram Thursday by photographer and videographer Patrick Coyne, two dolphins can be seen swimming through bioluminescent waves in the otherwise dark waters. The blue glow is actually the result of bioluminescent phytoplankton, which produce light when disturbed.

“Last night was truly one of the most magical nights of my life,” Coyne captioned the video in part. “We were out for a few hours and on our final stretch back we finally had 2 Dolphins pop up to start the incredible glowing show. A few minutes later and we were greeted by a few more which was incredible. I’m honestly still processing this all and I can’t thank [Newport Coastal Adventure] enough for having me out because without them none of this would be possible.”

Also shared in full-length to the Newport Coastal Adventure Facebook page, where it was explained that Capt. Ryan took a boat named the Zodiac out to capture the special moment, the video has gained thousands of views and even more comments. The comments section on Coyne’s post is filled with people calling it “unreal” and “absolutely incredible.”

“I would’ve literally cried. I’m about to cry now. It’s just too beautiful and magical,” commented one person. “[Oh my God]. I don’t know you, but I’m so HAPPY you had this experience. Amazing!!”

“Breathtakingly beautiful!” wrote somebody else. “Thanks for your patience to capture something most of us will likely never see in person. Magnificent!”

In the post, Coyne also described the difficulty of capturing the rare moment. Explaining that the first time he had seen such a video filmed was in the Netflix docuseries Night on Earth and that it “became a dream of mine to one day capture something similar,” Coyne said that “this was by far the most challenging video I’ve shot for a number of reason.”

Coyne explained that the bioluminescence “has sweet spots,” making it difficult to find where it is. He also said that finding sea life in the middle of the nights are “just so ridiculously hard” and that “conditions have to be absolutely perfect” for the bioluminescence to show up and for animals to swim through it.