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    Boat Crew Spots Thousands of Dolphins in a California Bay ‘Superpod’

    The bay looked “like it was boiling,” said a boat captain with a whale-watching company in Monterey Bay, Calif. He captured video of thousands of dolphins swimming off the coast.A rare superpod of thousands of dolphins was spotted swimming off the coast of Monterey Bay, Calif.Evan Brodsky/Monterey Bay Whale Watch via StoryfulOn a small inflatable boat last Friday, Evan Brodsky and two co-workers with a whale-watching tour company were on the lookout for gray whales on the Pacific blue waters of Monterey Bay, along the central coast of California.After four hours of searching, the team had spotted only one whale.But instead of heading back to the harbor, as the team usually would, Mr. Brodsky, a boat captain and videographer with the tour company Monterey Bay Whale Watch, said he had an “itch” that there was something they could not yet see and decided to stay out on the water.A dolphin rising above the waters of Monterey Bay, one of thousands that were seen recently in what an expert said is a nutrient-rich area off the coast of California.Rose Franklin/Monterey Bay Whale WatchWhere one dolphin is spotted, there are usually more, said a member of the whale watching crew that spotted them. They are known to be highly social marine animals.Kaitlyn Tunick/Monterey Bay Whale WatchFirst, the team of three spotted about 15 dolphins swimming together. It followed the small pod, knowing that dolphins are highly social marine animals that usually travel in larger groups.Some 30 minutes later, 15 dolphins had turned into hundreds. Then there were thousands.“I kind of just take a glance and scan the horizon, and maybe about a mile and a half from us the water literally looked like it was boiling,” Mr. Brodsky, 35, said. “It was foaming. There were so many dolphins there.”In previous outings, Mr. Brodsky had seen pods of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dolphins, but this was the first time that he had seen a gathering of so many northern right whale dolphins, mixed in with Pacific white-sided dolphins. In the past, he had seen only a few hundred of the species in one place.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Nigeria Boat Capsizes, Killing at Least 27

    Rescuers were searching for survivors after the vessel, taking passengers to a food market, capsized along the River Niger, officials said.ABUJA, Nigeria — At least 27 people were killed and more than 100, mostly women, were missing on Friday after a boat transporting them to a food market capsized along the River Niger in northern Nigeria, the authorities said.About 200 passengers were on the boat traveling from the state of Kogi to the neighboring state of Niger when it capsized, said Ibrahim Audu, a spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency.Rescuers had managed to pull 27 bodies from the river by Friday evening, while divers were still searching for survivors, according to Sandra Musa, a spokeswoman for the Kogi state emergency services.The authorities have not confirmed the cause of the sinking, but local news outlets suggested the boat might have been overloaded. Overcrowding on boats is common in remote parts of Nigeria, where the lack of good roads leaves many with no alternative routes.Most previous deadly boat accidents in Nigeria have been attributed to overcrowding and the lack of maintenance of the boats, often built locally to accommodate as many passengers as possible in defiance of safety measures.Also, the authorities have not been able to enforce the use of life jackets on such trips, often because of the lack of availability or cost.Justin Uwazuruonye, who is in charge of Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency operations in the state, said rescuers had trouble finding the location of the capsized vessel for hours after tragedy struck.Such deadly episodes are increasingly becoming a source of concern in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, as the authorities struggle to enforce safety measures and regulations for water transportation. More