Playtime a mostly mutual activity between dolphins and whales, study finds

A new study has studied hundreds of videos and images taken by the public, tourist operators and scientists to better understand a behavior rarely studied between whales and dolphins – – do they actually play together, or is it more a unilateral relationship?

Directed by the head of the Whale & Climate program of Griffith University, Dr Olaf Meynecke, the study analyzed the cases of Baleen Whale and Dolphin interactions involving 19 species in 199 distinct and unrelated interactions, documented by photographs and videos of 17 locations around the world.

The study “Evaluating the social behavior between the whales of Baleen (Mysticeti) and the Dolphins (Delphinidae)”, was published in Discover the animals. Dr. Meynecke said that the results demonstrated that a quarter of these interactions could be defined as mutual interaction.

“And in particular, for the humpback whales, we found that for a third of the events, the behavioral responses to the dolphins seem positive.

“The humpback whales were rolling from one side to the other, entering a stomach presentation and other behaviors associated with the nuptial parade or friendly socialization.

“The whales have also moved strategically slowly in the direction of the dolphins with the head and the rostrum.

“The vast majority of the interactions observed have not shown a avoidance behavior.

“We were in particular interested in documenting the reactions and responses of whales towards dolphins, because the dolphins are generally described to harass and annoy whales.”

The co-author and graduate of masters, Olivia Crawley, said: “When you are on the water, you often see whales and dolphins interact and, as a scientist, you cannot help but ask yourself why.

“Having the opportunity to document these observations and observe some of the behavioral models such as the wick by dolphins and narrow keys was intriguing.

“I hope this study can be used as a basis for future studies.”

In each interaction, the authors noted the species of the whale and the dolphin, the date and the time of the interaction, the location, the number of animals involved, the age class and the relative position of the dolphins compared to the main body parts of the whale (rostrum or “beak”, flank and tail).

The interaction of dolphins of the most common whale involved dolphins to swim near the whale rostrum, similar to horse riding, which could indicate an energy -efficient mode of locomotion and a form of unilateral play by dolphins.

In total, documented interactions included 425 ball whales from six different species, with dominant humpback whales (68%), then gray whales (16%) and fins (7%).

It has been observed that 1,570 dolphins were observed, with dolphins of bottles (51%), common dolphins (17%) and dolphins alongside the Pacific (15%) dominant.

Adults have formed the greatest number of documented interactions, but a whale calf was present in 44 events and the Dauphin calf in 53 events. Whale calves and dolphins were present 21 times.

Whale species responded differently to the behavior of dolphins; The humpback whales moved their pectoral fins to the dolphins (172 accusation chiefs) while the gray whales were often rolling (56 charges) and the right whales from the South displayed pectoral slaps (5 accounts on 10 distinct events).

Physical percussion behaviors that could indicate aggressive responses to dolphins such as tail slaps (18 accounts) or head slaps (none) were the least observed for humpback whales.

Two videos of suction camera labels on humpback whales also showed Bandais dolphins according to the humpback whales not only on the surface but also at the bottom of the ocean where they continued to engage in close approaches, including possible touch and social game.

“Although the social game is cooperative and reciprocal, there is also a unilateral game or interaction, with a single participant perceiving the interaction as playful, as we can see in cases of teasing or harassment by dolphins during food events,” said Dr. Meynecke.

“The behavioral studies of marine mammals like these give an overview of their complex social structures, play a crucial role in improving our understanding of marine ecosystems and interactions between marine species.”