NEED TO KNOW

• A pantropical spotted dolphin, nicknamed Air Dolphin after Michael Jordan, jumped 15 feet into the air in Maui, Hawaii

• “If a human could match this feat relative to their body size, it would be like jumping clear over a basketball hoop,” the Pacific Whale Foundation wrote on Instagram

• This species of dolphin is typically around 6 to 7 feet long

A dolphin’s giant leap amid the ocean breeze has earned comparisons to one of basketball’s legendary players in the process.

The dolphin’s soaring moment happened in Maui, Hawaii on March 4, according to Los Angeles news outlet KTLA, but the impressive jump above the water made some people question the photo’s authenticity.

The Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF), which initially posted the photo on Instagram assured critics that “THIS IS NOT AI.”

“Introducing the Michael Jordan of Dolphins, Air Dolphin, estimated to jump 15 feet in the air,” the foundation added in the caption. “This incredible shot was captured by our research team in the field.”

The PWF also explained that pantropical spotted dolphins are typically around 6 to 7 feet long and weigh about 250 lbs.

“If a human could match this feat relative to their body size, it would be like jumping clear over a basketball hoop,” the foundation wrote.

Dolphins of this species have “slender snouts or beaks” and grow spots as they age, and they also have a “dark cape or coloration on their backs,” according to NOAA Fisheries.

The PWF also explained that these dolphins “are often seen traveling with other species like rough-toothed dolphins, short-finned pilot whales, and spinner dolphins.”

Pantropical spotted dolphins can be found in “tropical and subtropical waters around the world” and have “energetic” and “highly social” personalities, per the PWF.

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These dolphins are mostly found in deep offshore waters in “the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea,” according to the Whale & Dolphin Conservation USA.

They can also be found “around oceanic islands” in Central America and Mexico, the Hawaiian Islands, Taiwan and the Philippines — just like Air Dolphin that made headlines in Maui.

Read the original article on People