Bhubaneswar: To the amusement of tourists as well as locals, a pod of dolphins were spotted in the coastal sea at Odisha’s Puri town today.

The dolphins were spotted in a playful mood near the beach in the morning. The sea bathers were thrilled by the spectacle in the sea.  Earlier, dolphins had been sighted in the sea near Chandrabhaga in Puri district.

“Dolphins from Chilika lake are often sighted in Chandrabhaga sea. Today, a few dolphins were spotted in the Puri sea. This is a rare case. As there was no fishing boat and trawler in the sea, the dolphins swam up to the beach,” said a local.

It is worth mentioning here that Odisha has recorded altogether 765 dolphins and other cetaceans during a recent estimation survey. According to the Forest Department, this is the highest dolphin count in the last five years.

The surveyors have found six species of dolphins, whales and finless porpoise in the Odisha coast, including the Chilika lake, during the 2025-26 population estimation survey, said the Forest Department.

The survey recorded a total of 208 Irrawaddy dolphins, 55 Bottle-nose dolphins, 497 Humpback dolphins, three Spinner dolphins and two finless porpoises in the Odisha coast, it added.

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