Who needs a trainer? Wild dolphins show they can do exactly the same tricks as their captive cousins

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE

Bianca the dolphin 'walks' on her tail, a skill which she is believed to have learned from a captive dolphin that was released into the wild


Tail walking is a guaranteed crowd pleaser in any dolphin show.

But these remarkable creatures are not performing for a human audience but are simply entertaining themselves.

In an incredible discovery, a group of six wild bottlenose dolphins have taught themselves to 'walk' backwards on the water using their tails.

Marine biologists say the craze is spreading through the community of dolphins in Adelaide at an astonishing rate and that the only plausible explanation is that they are doing it for fun.


The discovery shows how dolphins are even brighter than we realised.
Dr Mike Bossley has been observing the dolphins in Port River, Australia, for 24 years and previously reported tail walking in two adult females - Billie and Wave.

Billie is thought to have picked up the skill during three weeks in captivity in 1988.
The female was looked after by a local dolphinarium after she became trapped behind a marine lock and was unable to return to the sea.

After three weeks in a tank she was released into the wild with a “3” branded on her dorsal fin to make her easy to spot.

Billie returned to her usual haunts and - to the astonishment of experts - began to tail-walk herself.

Despite receiving no formal training, the researchers believe she learned the trick by watching other captive dolphins being fed for performing the trick.

Now - two decades after being released back into the wild - she is passing on the skill. Over the last few years she has taught the trick to five other dolphins in her group .


Another dolphin performs tricks for fun. Scientists have discovered five of the animals tail-walking in the wild


Dr Bossley, of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said Wave’s Calf Tullula, Bianca and her calf Hope, and the calf Bubbles have all taken up the past time.

'Culture in the wider sense of the term, defined as "learned behaviour characteristic of a community2, is now frequently on show in the Port River', says Dr Bossley. 'This cultural behaviour is of great significance for conservation.

'Cultural behaviours in animals have been identified in several species, particularly chimpanzees. However, most if not all the cultural behaviours described to-date have been of a utilitarian nature, mainly to do with obtaining food. A well known chimpanzee example is using a twig to extract termites from a nest in the Gombe Stream reserve.

'The only dolphin example seen up to now is in Shark Bay, West Australia, where a small group of dolphins habitually carry a sponge on the end of their jaw while fishing to protect them from fish spines.

'As far as we are aware, tail walking has no practical function and is performed just for fun - akin to human dancing or gymnastics. As such, it represents an internationally important example of the behavioural similarities between humans and dolphins.'


It is thought one dolphin, called Billie, started the trend of tail-walking after she was released off the south coast of Australia in 1988


Tail walking is one of the most popular tricks in dolphin show. Rewarded with food, dolphins learn to surge vertically out of the water and then propel themselves backwards 'walking' through the water.

But while it is common in captivity, it is extremely rare in the wild.

The WDCS team are watching Billie and her group to see whether the trick is a form of play, or communication. They also want to see if even more members of the dolphin group will join in.

Other captive dolphins in America have worked out how to bait visiting sea gulls.
The animals learned to hold back fish from feeding time, and then use it to attract passing sea birds. When the gulls swooped, the dolphins would grab them and present them to the astonished trainers.


source :dailymail