Researchers from Murdoch University believe a recently documented method of fishing may be spreading throughout a population of dolphins.
Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in Shark Bay were photographed engaging in “conching” in 2007 and 2009.
The dolphins would trap small fish in large conch shells with their rostrums (beaks), then bring the shells to the surface and shake them, causing the water to drain out and the fish to fall into their mouths.
Murdoch Cetacean Research Unit Researcher Simon Allen says this previously rarely witnessed phenomenon might be on the increase, suggesting that the technique is spreading.
Read more at Murdoch University