Overview

• Researchers compiled 199 independent crowd-sourced videos and photos from social media platforms across 17 countries, capturing interactions between 425 baleen whales and about 1,570 dolphins.
• Dolphins initiated most close approaches—commonly bow-riding near the whale’s rostrum—and whales responded with either neutral or positive behaviours in the majority of interactions.
• About 25% of interactions overall and roughly one-third of those involving humpback whales were classified as mutual social play rather than one-sided encounters.
• Two animal-borne suction-camera tag videos provided underwater perspectives of bottlenose dolphins following humpback whales down to the seafloor, where they continued close approaches and possible touching.
• Authors and external experts caution that geographic and observer biases in the dataset limit interpretation of intent and call for acoustic recordings, controlled observations and broader sampling to assess communication and conservation implications.