Dolphins Are Learning a Clever Fishing Trick from Their Mothers

Quick Take

• Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in Queensland use empty seashells to trap fish and carry them to the surface. See the shelling technique →
• A dolphin calf was observed copying its mother’s shelling behavior, suggesting the technique may be socially learned. Watch how calves copy mothers →
• Dolphins in Shark Bay also use marine sponges as tools to help them catch prey. Discover the other tool →
• Shelling and sponging show how dolphins can develop specialised hunting techniques and pass them between generations.

Dolphins are known for being some of the most intelligent and adaptable animals in the world. Their intelligence is evident in their hunting methods, as they have the ability to use tools while searching for food. A group of dolphins in Australia have developed a particularly unusual way of hunting fish by using empty seashells to help them catch their prey. There’s also evidence that young dolphins are learning the technique from their mothers by copying their behavior. So, how does this unusual method work, and what does it tell us about dolphins?

Dolphins Use Seashells to Catch Fish

Although dolphins have previously been observed using tools, there is no other hunting strategy quite like the one seen in dolphins in Australia. A recent study has observed dolphins using a strategy known as shelling. Shelling consists of the dolphins chasing fish into an empty shell, effectively using the shell as a temporary trap. They then carry it up to the surface with the fish still in it. Once at the surface, they tilt the shell, tipping the fish out of the shell and straight into their mouth. Effectively, they use the empty shell as a container to catch and eat fish that might otherwise escape.

The study focused on Indo-Pacific dolphins in the Great Sandy Marine Park in 2025. Shelling had previously been observed in dolphins in Shark Bay in Western Australia. The two locations are thousands of miles apart, which suggests that the populations have learned how to use the technique independently. Dolphins using the shelling technique were also photographed in Queensland in 2013 and 2019. However, the technique had largely gone unnoticed due to the lack of research into dolphins in the area. The 2025 study is the first time the behavior has been officially studied outside of Shark Bay, and was seen in just a few individuals. This also suggests that it remains a specialized technique rather than widespread behavior.

How Calves Learn From Their Mothers

Young dolphins can learn certain behaviors and techniques by watching other dolphins interacting and foraging. They also spend a lot of time watching their mothers forage. By doing this, they can learn which techniques work and which don’t before attempting to replicate the behavior themselves. This is known as social learning. When the young dolphin learns specifically from their mother, it is known as vertical social learning.

Dolphin calves remain with their mother for a long time. This is often around six years, but they can sometimes stay with them for longer. Although they are weaned from their mother’s milk by the time they are two or three years old, they spend the rest of the time learning the important behaviors that they need to survive. This long period of learning is particularly useful for dolphins. This is because they need to learn where to find food and how to catch it, as well as how to notice and steer clear of danger.

During the study, one dolphin calf appeared to copy its mother as she used a shell for catching prey. The calf picked up the shell within minutes of its mother dropping it. It was then spotted with a lizardfish dangling from the shell at the surface. This suggests that shelling could be a behavior that young dolphins learn from their mother.

Do Dolphins Use Any Other Tools?

Shelling is not the only example of dolphins using objects to help them catch their prey. Some Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay have also been observed using marine sponges to protect their snout while searching on the seafloor for a meal. The dolphins break the sponge off from the seafloor and then hold it over their closed beak like a glove as they search in the seabed for food. The sponge protects their sensitive snout from rocks or stingrays.

A study found that “sponging”, as it is named, is predominantly used by females. It also found that female calves with mothers that use the sponging method are also more likely to use sponging themselves. Therefore, it is believed that the knowledge of sponging is passed on through vertical social learning.

Sponging provides an interesting comparison to shelling and shows that dolphins learn more than one specialized hunting method from their mothers. Interestingly, this is now evidence of two different examples of tool use by dolphins in the same location. Both behaviors also show that dolphins can make use of objects that they find in their environment. They also show that, although some of the behaviors might not be instinctive, they can be picked up by dolphins who have watched others use them successfully.