Clever dolphins have shellfish cracked

IT HAS long been known that dolphins are among Earth’s most intelligent life forms – but man’s best underwater friend is even brainier than previously thought, research suggests.

Like many species, dolphin babies learn from their mothers, but they also pick up foraging techniques from their peers, according to a study that suggests the aquatic mammals share striking cultural similarities to the great apes, which also show the ability to learn from the community.

An international team including scientists from the University of Leeds are basing their conclusions on the study of dolphins in Shark Bay, Western Australia.

They sometimes forage using a technique called shelling, a tactic used when prey hide in large empty shells of giant sea snails. Dolphins push these to the surface with their beaks and shake them to empty the contents into their mouths.

It was known that calves acquired this skill from their mother. However, the study published in Current Biology said some learnt it by observing other dolphins.

“These results were quite surprising, as dolphins tend to be conservative, with calves following a ‘do-asmother-does’ strategy for learning foraging behaviours,” said Dr Sonja Wild, of the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour at the University of Konstanz.

“However, our results show that dolphins are definitely capable, and in the case of shelling, also motivated to learn new foraging tactics outside the mothercalf bond.”

Shelling is rare and only lasts a few seconds. The team observed thousands of dolphins between 2007 and 2018, but only recorded a total of 42 shelling events performed by 19 dolphins.

Dr Wild said: “This opens the door to a new understanding of how dolphins may be able to behaviourally adapt to changing environments.”