Their muscles for sucking add negative pressure that is produced by the increased inner mouth space, according to ScienceAlert.Īlthough dolphins have been observed playing with snakes in the past, including river dolphins messing with a large anaconda, the video provided evidence that dolphins may also consume these reptiles. The dolphins' throat muscles can be seen in the footage springing into action, and their tongues retracted out of the way as they largely swallowed fish into the sides of their open mouths. The footage showed that instead of ramming their prey, the dolphins used suction to gulp down their prey using their powerful throat muscles. The cameras also captured the sound of the animals' racing hearts as they struggled to keep up with the demanding activities. They also used vision and echolocation simultaneously to locate a fish. Read also: US Navy's 'Uncrewed Robotic Minesweeper Ship' Is Now Ready For Deployment Consuming ReptilesĪccording to Ridgway and colleagues, the dolphins appeared to employ both sight and hearing to find prey. More than 200 fish were captured by the dolphins with cameras affixed to them, including bass, croakers, halibut, smelt, and pipefish.īut more interestingly, the dolphins followed their prey's move and used a method previously seen in wild dolphins to swim upside down so their swiveling eyes could see clearly. On contact with fish, buzzing and squealing were almost constant until after the fish was swallowed," the team added. "On approaching prey, click intervals shorten into a terminal buzz and then a squeal. NMMF marine mammal veterinarian Sam Ridgway and colleagues said that when the dolphins hunted for food, they clicked continuously at intervals of 20 to 50ms. Their mouths and eyes were seen in startlingly off-angle positions when the recording equipment was positioned on their sides or backs.Īlthough these dolphins are not in the wild, they are regularly given a chance to hunt in the open ocean to supplement their typical frozen fish diet. These recordings have given us fresh perspectives on the hunting techniques and social interactions of these sea mammals. Six bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were equipped with cameras from the US National Marine Mammal Foundation (NMMF), which captured footage and audio over six months.
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