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Underwater Tag Footage Reveals Mutual Play Between Whales and Dolphins

Reviewing almost two decades of drone, camera-tag, social-media recordings, researchers found dolphins initiate most encounters with baleen whales reciprocating in roughly one quarter of occasions.

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A new global study of 199 encounters reveals rare, playful interactions between dolphins and whales, offering a rare look into the complex social lives of these marine giants.

Overview

  • The study analysed 199 independent interactions between 425 baleen whales and about 1,570 dolphins documented from 17 locations worldwide.
  • Dolphins typically initiated encounters—most often bow-riding near the whale’s rostrum—while whales responded neutrally or positively in the vast majority of events.
  • About one quarter of all interactions were mutual by behavioural criteria and humpback whales showed positive responses in roughly one third of their encounters with dolphins.
  • Two suction-camera tag videos provided the first underwater confirmation of bottlenose dolphins following humpback whales from the surface to the seafloor and maintaining close approaches.
  • Authors recommend targeted acoustic monitoring and longer systematic observations to explore the functions of interspecies play and to address geographic and observer biases.