INCREDIBLE footage and images have captured dolphins swimming in the River Clyde – just metres away from residential houses.
An amazing video captured a dolphin duo swimming around outside the Riverside Museum in Glasgow yesterday evening.
Locals spotted the dolphins frolicking around for over an hour in the Clyde as the sun set across the city.
Incredible images captured the beautiful creatures just metres away from built up areas.
One image shows a lone swan watching on as the mammals breach through the river which is usually just filled with ducks and swans.
The dolphins were first spotted in Glasgow Harbour and then heading east towards Glasgow city centre.
Another pod of dolphins were spotted on Monday swimming around near Erskine Bridge which is around seven miles away in the River Clyde.
Dr. Anna McGregor, Life Sciences and Animal Biology lecturer at the University of Glasgow, today said that the bottlenose dolphin sightings were “infrequent”.
Dr. McGregor also revealed that the species is usually spotted further along on the east coast of Scotland.
The academic believes the sightings highlight ecological improvements in the River Clyde.
Speaking today Dr. McGregor,39, said: “Bottlenose dolphins frequently live in coastal areas and have very sophisticated senses that allow them to orient in dark, murky waters.
“In fact, I think this is a good sign that these dolphins are travelling up the Clyde, as it is an indicator that the overall health of the Clyde may be starting to recover.
“Dolphins typically travel around following fish, as their main food source, so if they are here it is a sign that there are more fish present throughout the Clyde.”
It’s somewhat infrequent for dolphins to swim this far up the Clyde, however dolphins and other cetaceans regularly occur in the Outer Clyde and into the Gare Loch.
She added: “Last summer there were sightings of a pod of killer whales off Greenock and northern bottlenose whales off Helensburgh.
“Coming into the river itself is not that much farther in terms of the distances that these animals can travel and there are no physical barriers to prevent them moving here.
“The deep channel into Glasgow allows for easy access to the wider ocean, making even the city centre area pretty easy to get to for a cetacean.”
Grant Reekie, an avid chef and foodie, captured the stunning footage whilst out with his girlfriend Cathy Tran last night.
The footage begins with Grant scanning the Clyde for the dolphins before being shocked as one surfaces right in front of him.
The footage then cuts to the dolphins peacefully swimming away from the onlookers.
As the clip cuts again we see the dolphins move further towards Glasgow city centre, we can see Glasgow’s skyline at sunset in a beautiful scene.
The SECC, Glasgow Science Centre Tower and the Clyde Arc bridge are also spotted in the distance.
Speaking today, Grant said: “We couldn’t believe our eyes when Cathy spotted something splashing in the distance at Glasgow Harbour,
“But as they got closer it was very clear we were actually seeing dolphins in the Clyde.
“One swam up towards town and then came back with a pal – we were glad to see them head back out to sea.
“We just went to the Riverside museum to catch the beautiful sunset, we couldn’t believe our luck seeing these dolphins against that backdrop!”
Local James Jack spotted the dolphin on it’s way back out from the Clyde, swimming past the HMS Glasgow which is still being constructed by BAE systems in port.
His images show the dolphins surfacing with the massive frigate sitting in construction in port behind them.
James said: “I was sitting at home looking out the window while listening to a podcast when literally this dolphin popped right up in the middle of the water.
“I jumped up and got my camera and headed outside where people were watching and waiting.
“He had headed upstream so I figured he would head back sooner or later,
“And sure enough about 20 minutes later he was heading back out to sea.”
Emma Thomson, an avid wildlife photographer, posted an image on twitter of the dolphins surfacing as a pair, and one of a dolphin surfacing in residential Glasgow.
The avid wildlife photographer said: “I was just looking out of the window when I saw them – they were moving very fast and they upset the swans so caused a bit of commotion.
“I keep my Nikon D300 to hand because I often spot interesting wildlife in the Clyde.
“I’ve seen seals quite regularly, lots of birds…geese, gulls and every winter we get goldeneyes, an otter but this is a first for dolphins.
“I also spotted one of the northern bottlenose whales a while back – I think those were upset by military submarine activity and at least one of them died.
“Sounds like the dolphins are ok though and hopefully just exploring.”
