Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins located in Shark Bay, Australia are thought to have a symbiotic relationship with sponges by doing what is called “sponging”. A dolphin breaks a marine sponge off the sea floor and wears it over its beak.

It is thought to use the sponge to protect its nose while feeling around for food on the sea bed which would make them the only known dolphins that use tools.

Bottlenose Dolphin –   © Sophia Volzke

Shark Bay in Western Australia is home to more than 3 000 Bottlenose Dolphins.

Each group consisting of mostly females has perfectly adapted their hunting methods to their environment.
The “sponging” Dolphins live in the deeper waters of the southern channel of Shark Bay. Other groups reside along the beaches and have developed a unique hunting technique for shallow waters. Their prey is trapped towards the beach while they use the surf to catapult themselves towards the shore. This behaviour is extremely unusual for Dolphins but effective enough to be passed on from mother to daughter over generations.

For anyone who is interested:  This is the link to a beautiful BBC documentary on YouTube:

Natural World – The Dolphins of Shark Bay Part 1

Natural World – The Dolphins of Shark Bay Part 2

Natural World – The Dolphins of Shark Bay Part 3

Natural World – The Dolphins of Shark Bay Part 4

 

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