{"id":139623,"date":"2025-08-12T12:12:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T12:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/139623\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T12:12:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T12:12:13","slug":"what-do-dolphins-and-whales-think-of-each-other-scientists-have-new-evidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/139623\/","title":{"rendered":"What do dolphins and whales think of each other? Scientists have new evidence."},"content":{"rendered":"

As the humpback whales<\/a> soar along at the surface just off the coast of Australia, tiny splashes ahead indicate that they\u2019re not alone. A pod of bottlenose dolphins darts along at the front of the group.<\/p>\n

This scene captured by a \u201ccrittercam\u201d attached to one of the whales is just one example of baleen whales and dolphins interacting with each other in the wild\u2014and it might be much more common than scientists realized.<\/p>\n

After analyzing videos and photos of 199 instances of whale-dolphin interactions between 19 species around the world, researchers found that a quarter of all the whale-dolphin encounters could be \u201ca possible positive interaction,\u201d according to a study published today in the journal Discover Animals. It\u2019s unclear exactly how aware the animals are of each other or whether these are signs of playfulness\u2014or just vibes.<\/p>\n

(Do these dolphins have orca \u201cfriends\u201d?<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Possible positive interactions between dolphins and whales<\/p>\n

The team scoured social media for imagery of contact between the two cetaceans in oceans around the world, plus two videos captured by the crittercams<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 80 percent of the encounters, the dolphins swam close to the whales\u2019 heads, suggesting a mutual awareness or even that the dolphins might be trying to attract the whales\u2019 attention, says Olaf Meynecke<\/a>, a co-author on the study who leads the whales and climate program at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. In a handful of examples, the dolphins appeared to rub or touch the whale on purpose.<\/p>\n

The animals\u2019 close proximity \u201cwould indicate that they are seeking either direct contact, or at least visual contact,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In several instances, the dolphins went bow riding\u2014saving energy by surfing the wave created in front of the swimming whale\u2014near the whale\u2019s head, or rostrum, in the same way they often do with boats. \u201cWere dolphins close to the rostrum because they were enjoying a fast ride, or was it actually to seek contact with the whales?\u201d Meynecke wonders.<\/p>\n

Dolphins are often observed frolicking around whales but such behavior has \u201chistorically been looked at as the dolphins playing with this big thing in the ocean,\u201d says Thea Taylor<\/a>, managing director of the Sussex Dolphin Project in England who wasn\u2019t involved in the study, \u201cbut there hasn’t been much record of the whales interacting and playing back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Researches analyzed nearly 200 videos and photos of of whale-dolphin interactions between 19 species around the world. Photograph By Jaimen Hudson<\/p>\n

When Meynecke and his colleagues analyzed the footage closely, they realized that some whales seemed to respond.<\/p>\n

Do whales seek out dolphins?<\/p>\n

Based on the documented behaviors, some whale species seem to reciprocate the dolphins\u2019 friendly approaches more than others. Humpback whales<\/a> in particular\u2014believed to have an affinity for other species<\/a> because they sometimes intervene when orcas attack whales, seals, and even sunfish\u2014were more amenable to the association.<\/p>\n

Out of all documented hangouts with humpbacks, \u201cat least one third of the interactions we classified as positive, with the humpback whales actually seeking out swimming towards the dolphins,\u201d says Meynecke.<\/p>\n

Humpbacks rolled from side to side and showed their bellies, which is often associated with socializing or courtship, as well as extending their pectoral fins towards the dolphins. Meanwhile, Gray whales<\/a> rolled, which is seen during courtship<\/a> as well as when these curious animals try to get a better look at a tourist boat. Southern right whales<\/a> slapped the water with their pectoral fins\u2014also associated with communication and social interaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s really interesting to see that back-and-forth play, rather than it just being one directional,\u201d says Taylor.<\/p>\n

(

killing<\/a> porpoises before abandoning the carcass\u2014scientists don\u2019t know why but, as they\u2019re not eating the meat, it might just be fun. \u201cThat’s a slightly darker side of what could be play,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Some species documented by the study were less impressed by the dolphins than affable humpbacks\u2014fin, blue<\/a> and northern right whales showed little to no reaction.<\/p>\n

(Whales could one day be heard in court\u2014and in their own words<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

The importance of play<\/p>\n

As well as being fun, play is important for cognitive and social development. \u201cDolphins are heavily reliant on their social networks for foraging, hunting, and breeding,\u201d says Taylor. \u201cJust like in humans, play is a fantastic way of reinforcing their social bonds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Understanding whether distinct species seek each other out for play helps experts better understand their distribution, which could better inform conservation efforts and bolster public support for protection measures.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a strategy that\u2019s worked in the past. Before 1970, most people had no idea that whales could sing. When a marine biologist released an album of these haunting melodies<\/a> and people heard whale song for the first time, it transformed how connected they felt to these huge mammals. \u201cUnderstanding that cetaceans play, just like we do, can inspire a similar emotional bond,\u201d says Taylor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the humpback whales soar along at the surface just off the coast of Australia, tiny splashes ahead…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":139624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[83489,83488,83492,15917,23254,83493,83491,159,83490,67,132,68,837],"class_list":{"0":"post-139623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-baleen-whales","9":"tag-bottlenose-dolphins","10":"tag-cetaceans","11":"tag-dolphins","12":"tag-humpback-whales","13":"tag-interactions","14":"tag-olaf-meynecke","15":"tag-science","16":"tag-thea-taylor","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115015735289702761","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}