Life Lines

Kicking sand to catch fish

Posted by Dr. Dolittle on January 27, 2012
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I really love fishing! I can’t think of a more relaxing time than sitting by the lake, or a more exciting time than going deep sea fishing. Therefore, I find animals that have come up with unique ways of catching fish pretty interesting. Take for example the humpback whales that we talked about in a previous blog. These animals actually create bubble-barriers around schools of fish to keep their meal in one spot.

It turns out that bottlenose dolphins also have a unique strategy. They use sand. By hitting the ocean floor with their tails, they create clouds of sand that act as barriers around schools of fish. Brilliant.

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Comments

  1. #1 sedeer
    January 28, 2012

    Brilliant! It’s always wonderful to see more examples of how diverse and surprising the world can be. :) I’ve seen various clips from Life, but I haven’t yet had the chance to watch it properly; clearly, I should make the time.

    I wonder if this behaviour is something that the dolphins learn through cultural transmission. For example, it would be quite neat if different groups had a somewhat different style of herding fish.

  2. #2 sedeer
    January 28, 2012

    Brilliant! It’s always wonderful to see more examples of how diverse and surprising the world can be. :) I’ve seen various clips from Life, but I haven’t yet had the chance to watch it properly; clearly, I should make the time.

    I wonder if this behaviour is something that the dolphins learn through cultural transmission. For example, it would be quite neat if different groups had a somewhat different style of herding fish.

  3. #3 darvd
    February 16, 2012

    wow they are brilliant

  4. #4 Sesli Chat
    February 25, 2012

    I wonder if this behaviour is something that the dolphins learn through cultural transmission.