At 10am on 27 June 2018, researchers studying dolphins in a Belize mangrove, witnessed a gruesome spectacle. First, a group of four bottlenose dolphins separated a baby manatee from his mother. Then, one of them attacked the calf, biting it over and over again, and ramming it out of the water. The youngster later died […]
Tag: dolphins
“Beaching here could be lethal.” Dolphins in South Carolina have developed a genius – but deadly – hunting strategy. Watch the tense Attenborough-narrated footage
Famed for their intelligence, dolphins have developed an array of incredible hunting techniques. Whether using tools such as sponges and shells to access prey, or rounding up fish by creating mud nets or forcing them to form bait balls, they cooperate and share knowledge in unprecedented ways. But in South Carolina, USA, bottlenose dolphins have […]
“The fish life has exploded”: 400,000 corals planted on dying reef in Bali. What happened next was remarkable
A diver in Indonesia was distraught at seeing coral reefs destroyed. So, he decided to do something about it. Many scuba divers will know the devastation of seeing coral reefs becoming bleached and dying. That was the case for Leon Boey, founder of Livingseas Asia, so he decided to do something about it. He’s now […]
Orcas team up with dolphins to hunt salmon, study finds
Orcas and dolphins have been spotted for the first time working as a team to hunt salmon off the coast of British Columbia, according to a new study which suggests a cooperative relationship between the two predators. The research, published on Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports, shows interactions between northern resident orcas (also known […]
A rare bright spot for whales: Decades of conservation pay off for endangered population in Canada
Populations of northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus), playful animals that resemble large dolphins, stretch across the Atlantic Ocean, with each group of whales living year-round in a particular deep ocean canyon. Historically, commercial whaling targeted these animals, causing their numbers across the basin to collapse. Even as protections against whaling increase, northern bottlenose whale populations […]
“Not expected at all”: dolphin researchers just made a surprising discovery in the Mediterranean Sea
A new study challenges a long-held theory about bottlenose dolphins in the Mediterranean, revealing that they are divided by offshore and coastal ecotypes rather than being split into east and west populations. “We thought that there was a general east-west split in their populations based on quite old genetic techniques that wouldn’t be used nowadays,” […]
Ocean’s most powerful, ruthless killers: The world’s top 9 marine predators that rule the waves
In the ocean, everything relies on tiny plankton.These provide nutrients for animals at the bottom of the food web which are eaten by larger species, and so on. At the top of the food chain, large predators (often with huge teeth) have perfected their hunting strategies for millennia, giving them the best possible chance to […]
10 fastest swimmers in the ocean, including one animal that can accelerate to nearly 80MPH quicker than a Porsche
Some species in the ocean live their lives at a breakneck pace – at least, when they need to. Whether it’s to catch their dinner or avoid becoming dinner, many animals can swim incredibly quickly. But which are the fastest? Of course, it’s almost impossible to know exactly how fast a fish can swim, as […]