You already knew dolphins were amazingly smart creatures and friendly, too. But did you know that groups of dolphins will work together collaboratively? They typically live in groups (pods) of upward of a dozen individuals but occasionally and only temporarily form massive “superpods” of as many as 1,000 dolphins. They’ll help fellow dolphins who get into trouble and have been known to come to the aid of other species, including us humans.
In one corner of the world, the local dolphins have come up with a unique collaborative form of hunting that allows them to catch more fish as a group than they would as individuals. No other dolphins in the world are known to do what these ones do. It happens in the maze of coastal marshes along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. A group of these dolphins will swim into the marsh shortly before low tide — perfect timing is essential. At low tide they swing into action and start doing something that normal dolphins would consider completely insane: they beach themselves!
What these dolphins are actually doing is working as a “tactical team,” corralling small schools of fish and then shoving the fish and themselves toward the bank. The dolphins do this with such force that some of the fish go flying into the air before landing on the muddy bank next to the temporarily beached dolphins. Before slipping back into the water, the dolphins gobble up whatever fish are in reach. Shorebirds have figured out what’s going on and linger near the water as low tide approaches, knowing that they’ll have a good chance at grabbing a tasty fish or two while leaving the hard work to the dolphins.
Have a look at the video and let us know what you think of these dolphin’s bold and ingenious method of fishing in the comments section below. Don’t forget to like and share!
