Like a cat peering into a goldfish bowl, Akaasha the tiger cub is transfixed by a dolphin staring back at her.

Curiosity got the better of both Akaasha and Mavrick, a 14-month-old dolphin who's probably more used to a crowd of human faces gazing into his glass tank at a Californian theme park.

Staff were taking six-month-old Akaasha on her daily walk around the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom when she saw Mavrick, a 14-month-old Atlantic bottlenose dolphin.