Some Australian dolphins use sponges to hunt fish, but it's harder than it looks

Some dolphins in Australia use sponges on their nose to hunt fish, a skill transmitted during generations. The research published Tuesday reveals that this technique involves using sponges to protect their noses while stirring fish from the seabed. But sponges interfere with the echolocation of dolphins, which makes competence difficult to master. About only 5% of the population studied, or 30 dolphins, use this method. Scientists say it is an effective but rare hunting strategy, learned over the years and has not gone from the mother to the calf. The results highlight the complexity of the behavior of dolphins and appear in the Royal Society Open Science journal.