Paddleboarder praises dolphin who tackled him into the sea. 'Took me out quite well.'

Stand-up-paddleboarding, or "SUP," doesn't have a reputation as a contact sport. It's an activity meant for sunny days on the water, or perhaps some wobbly water yoga.

Don't tell that to this dolphin.

A bystander captured a video of Andrew Hill paddling into an oncoming wave off the coast of Gracetown, Western Australia, according to UPI.

"Eight or nine of them decided to catch that wave and surf straight at me, which has happened lots of times in the past to me and generally they just take off to one side left or right,” Hill told 7 News Perth.

But that isn't what happened. In the video, as Hill paddles toward the pod, one suddenly leaps out of the water, turns its body sideways, and bunts Hill right off his board into the drink. The person filming lets out a loud gasp.

Twitter users got a lot of chuckles out of the video at his expense.

But Hill told 7 News Perth he bore the cetacean no ill-will - the dolphin got him fair and square.

"He took me out quite well with a fairly legal hip and shoulder," Hill told the station. "Collected me really well."

There's no guarantee the dolphin knocked him off on purpose (porpoise?). But the creatures are some of the smartest on the planet. In fact, scientists say if dolphins sprouted human-like thumbs, humankind might suddenly have some competition.

This story was originally published May 1, 2018 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Paddleboarder praises dolphin who tackled him into the sea. 'Took me out quite well.'."