Dolphins are some of the smartest animals on the planet. They are incredibly resourceful and capable of some pretty impressive stuff, including using tools to catch prey and even using objects to play with. A new Australian discovery further supports the notion that they are a very intelligent species, as scientists say they have observed that dolphins really teach each other how to use tools and be better hunters.
This is particularly interesting because dolphins, like many mammals, tend to learn the vast majority of what they know from their mothers and not from their mates. This new study challenges that notion and shows that the already robust social structure of dolphins may have even more additional benefits.
The study, which was published in Current Biology, focuses on a specific type of dolphin behavior called “bombardment.” Bombardment is a technique used by some dolphins to catch and eat them easily. Animals use large shells for this purpose and, as the researchers explain, they seem to observe and learn the skill from each other.
“Using a multi-network version of ‘network-based diffusion analysis’ (NBDA), we show that bombing behavior is primarily propagated through non-vertical social transmission,” the researchers write.
“Statistically considering environmental and genetic influences, our findings represent the first evidence of non-vertical transmission of a feeding tactic in toothed whales. This research suggests that there are multiple routes of transmission of feeding behaviors in dolphins, highlighting the similarities between cetaceans and great apes in the nature of transmission of cultural behaviors. “
The “non-vertical transmission” that scientists talk about is learning and transmitting skills and knowledge that do not come from parents or the elderly. Instead, dolphins are learning from their mates, which is something that is only sometimes seen in non-human animals, such as primates.
“Our study shows that ‘bombardment’ search behavior, where dolphins catch fish inside empty seashells, is spread through social learning among close associates,” said Sonja Wild, who led the research, in a statement. “This is surprising, as dolphins and other toothed whales tend to follow a” do what the mother does “strategy to learn feeding behavior.”
“During the bombardment, the dolphins chase their prey, usually a fish, in empty shells of giant gastropods, insert their beak into the shell, bring it to the surface of the water, and then shake it to drain the water from the shell, from so the fish falls into the open mouth. “
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