Male Bottlenose Dolphins Use "Names" To Identify Friends And Rivals

Maitreyi Mantha
Wed, 18 Jul 2018 12:19:40 -0700

When it comes to brain power, bottlenose dolphins are second only to humans. The highly social animals are known to teach one another to tail walk, to help fellow dolphins in distress, and to even carefully prepare their food instead of instantly devouring it like most animals. Now, a new study indicates that male bottlenose dolphins maintain unique whistles, or ‘names,’ to enable them to recognize friends and rivals within their social group.