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Scientists Strapped GoPros To Wild Dolphins And Showed They Aren’t As Cute As We Thought

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New footage from strapped cameras shows that dolphins, despite their friendly image, can be surprisingly intense hunters in the wild

 

 

Dolphins may look sweet and harmless, but their behavior out in the open ocean can be a lot more intense than most people expect.This new footage, which shows what they do when no one is watching, might make you think twice before getting too close to one in the wild.Researchers in the United States placed GoPro cameras on six free-swimming bottlenose dolphins to capture how they searched for and caught their prey during normal foraging.

 

 

These dolphins weren’t just ordinary animals either. They were part of a US Navy program where they were trained to locate and mark underwater mines.By fitting them with cameras, scientists were able to see in detail how they moved through the water and how they swam, hunted, caught, and ate their prey in real time.The project was led by the late Sam Ridgway, a pioneer in marine mammal science who earned the nickname “Dolphin Doctor” for his decades of groundbreaking work.

Before he passed away three years ago, Ridgway shared what his team found while reviewing hours of GoPro footage of these animals in action. The video is remarkable to watch.

 

 

Across the group, the dolphins swallowed hundreds of fish and even snacked on unexpected prey like venomous sea snakes. What surprised the researchers most was the way the animals did it.

Ridgway’s audio recordings showed that dolphins tracked their targets using rapid sonar clicks, then let out excited squeals once they finally grabbed something.

 

 

Scientists originally believed dolphins rushed at their prey in a quick strike called “ram raiding” before swallowing it whole.But the GoPro recordings showed something different. The dolphins actually used suction to pull prey into their mouths. They did this by expanding their throats and pulling their lips back to create strong suction.Watching them suck fish into their mouths may change how some people see dolphins, since the footage is far more intense than their cute reputation suggests.

Scientists strapped GoPro’s to the dolphins to see what they got up toUS Navy/National Marine Mammal Foundation

 

 

One moment that stunned the researchers involved a dolphin eating eight yellow-bellied sea snakes, which are labeled as “highly venomous, but also unpleasant and possibly even toxic to ingest” by the Australian Museum.The camera captured the dolphin shaking its head in victory after grabbing the snake, followed by a loud squeal of success.Even though this meal was risky, the dolphin showed no signs of being harmed afterward, according to the researchers.

 

 

Detailing the sounds and behavior captured during hunts, the researchers wrote: “Searching dolphins clicked at intervals of 20 to 50 ms.”“On approaching prey, click intervals shorten into a terminal buzz and then a squeal. Squeals were bursts of clicks that varied in duration, peak frequency, and amplitude.”

One of the aquatic mammals seen ‘drilling’ into the sea floor to seize a fishUS Navy/National Marine Mammal Foundation

 

 

“Squeals continued as the dolphin seized, manipulated and swallowed the prey. If fish escaped, the dolphin continued the chase and sonar clicks were heard less often than the continuous terminal buzz and squeal.”“During captures, the dolphins’ lips flared to reveal nearly all of the teeth. The throat expanded outward.”“Fish continued escape swimming even as they entered the dolphins’ mouth, yet the dolphin appeared to suck the fish right down.”

After watching the recordings, many Reddit users admitted they would prefer not to run into a dolphin in a dark alley any time soon.

People were left stunned after watching how the dolphins secured themselves some grubUS Navy/National Marine Mammal Foundation

 

 

One said: “Dolphins aren’t to be trifled with.”Another added: “Freaking dolphins. Second biggest bastards of the mammal world.”And a third remarked: “Everything seems to emit a triumphant squeal when they catch their prey.”

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