Dolphins are widely recognised as one of the ocean’s most intelligent animals. Now, researchers say they have captured the first-ever footage of the cetaceans using seashells to help them catch fish. What’s more, it’s thought that mothers may even teach their calves how to do it.
Two incidences of the behaviour – recorded by researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) off Hervey Bay in Queensland, Australia – were observed. In one video, a female bottlenose dolphin can be seen holding a shell in its mouth, dropping it suddenly, before snatching a fish from the water.
“We were on a research boat off Hervey Bay when we spotted a dolphin raising something large out of the water,” says animal behaviouralist and marine mammal expert Alexis Levengood, who led the study, published in the journal Marine Mammal Science. “I started screaming because I know what shelling looks like.”
‘Shelling’ is “a hunting behaviour where dolphins chase fish into large empty shells, bring the shell to the surface and then shake it to drain the fish into their mouths,” explains Levengood.
“We were able to record footage and take photographs of dolphins shelling in the Great Sandy Marine Park, which is the first published record of it on the east coast of Australia,” she adds.
Prior to this record, the only published evidence of dolphins shelling was at Shark Bay in Western Australia – but no footage was captured there.
- 11 animals that use tools in surprising and clever ways
- Humpback whales actually make and use tools for hunting
As if catching the rare behaviour on camera wasn’t exciting enough, the researchers also noticed an adult female dolphin and calf shelling together, suggesting that the skill is being passed from one generation to the next.
“We saw the mother surface with a shell, the fish inside escaped and the dolphin dropped the shell to chase the fish. Then, minutes afterwards, the dolphin calf picked up the shell and held it the same way as its mother,” says Levengood.
“Our footage provides the first potential evidence of maternal social transmission – a process by which offspring learn behaviour by observing the actions of its mother. It challenges the belief that dolphins learn this tool use from their peers.”
- Dolphin vs shark: what's the difference between these charismatic ocean dwellers?
- “I can’t express to you how rare this behaviour is”: 'tail walking' dolphin filmed in California
- 'Moonwalking' orca stuns onlookers in Canada. Experts know what it's doing
- 'Ghost sharks' are lurking off the coast of Washington – and they have teeth growing between their eyes
Levengood and the team say the observations in Queensland, coupled with those in Western Australia, show that dolphins thousands of miles apart have learned to use tools in the exact same way.
“There’s still a lot we don’t know and many questions we will hopefully ask and answer with time. But better understanding of shelling, and other tool use in non-human animals, will continue to teach us more about ourselves and how and why we evolved the way we did.
“These findings highlight how smart, clever and innovative dolphins are,” adds Levengood.
Find out more about the study, published in the journal Marine Mammal Science.
Image and video credit: University of the Sunshine Coast Australia
More amazing wildlife stories from around the world
- Giant squid detected in deep-sea canyon off coast of Australia
- Orcas are now hunting whale sharks – and they're doing it in an astonishing way
- 16ft great white shark found with perfectly circular hole in its head – scientists know exactly what caused it
- Arctic bobtail squid seen alive in natural habitat for first time ever
