Science Bulletins: Whales Give Dolphins a Lift

Many species interact in the wild, most often as predator and prey. But recent encounters between humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins reveal a playful side to interspecies interaction. In two different locations in Hawaii, scientists watched as dolphins "rode" the heads of whales: the whales lifted the dolphins up and out of the water, and then the dolphins slid back down. The two species seemed to cooperate in the activity, and neither displayed signs of aggression or distress. Whales and dolphins in Hawaiian waters often interact, but playful social activity such as this is extremely rare between species. The latest Bio Bulletin from the Museum's Science Bulletins program presents the first recorded examples of this type of behavior. Visitors to AMNH may view the video in the Hall of Biodiversity until February 9, 2012.

Science Bulletins is a production of the National Center for Science Literacy, Education, and Technology (NCSLET), part of the Department of Education at the American Museum of Natural History. Find out more about Science Bulletins at http://www.amnh.org/sciencebulletins/.

Related Links:

Two Unusual Interactions Between a Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and a Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Hawaiian Waters
http://bit.ly/yaLlSw

The Hawaii Association for Marine Education and Research, Inc.
http://www.hamerhawaii.com/index.htm

National Marine Mammal Foundation
http://nmmpfoundation.org/

• Category

  Science & Technology

[katnip2u]

It must be a unique experience for an ocean mammal to be out of the water and to feel the gravitational force, its own weight, body sliding with such intensity of contact with another mammal in the conditions out of the water--for both of them, really... so cool!

[veganfemale]

"...hint at the complexity of interspecies relationship in the wild."

-yup. crows makes noise on my balcony, i tell them them to fuck off, and they make more noise. it's complicated.

[Mohsin Khan]

Dolphins are so cute even whales loves them....

[JoeNietzsche]

LOL, reading this made my day.

[watts300]

I agree. It's the exact opposite of what we feel when we get IN the water.

[Lawrence frank]

Amazing

[Flamebunny36]

Things like this make me think "god i love animals"

[TheMoonWolf26]

That is so cute!

[katie17610]

i bet they both were itchy

[kjsGeistGem]

Possible. Though they might have adapted a different method of play given the size difference. We can but hope that's the case here.

As to the last part of your comment, I couldn't agree with you more.

[njidechu]

@veganfemale:

One more suggestion: Make pieces of glass shards or pointed nail-like tools and put them on the balcony. Once the crows can't land, they will find somewhere else to go.

This is something that is done at a large building near Central Park West in New York City to stop birds from landing on people's balconies

If this doesn't work, you better get used to getting bird-fucked -- and eating a lot of -- oops, sorry for this -- crow. That can be pretty hard for a vegan.

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA

[njidechu]

@veganfemale:

LMMFAO.

That question has to be rhetorical. There's nobody on the fuckin planet who can answer that question.

Soundproof your house.