For the first time, researchers have been able to watch on video the moment dolphins eat and hunt for fish on the ocean floor. The cameras attached to the animals’ bodies were supposed to observe the underwater behavior of the mammals.
In videos published this Wednesday (17/8) in the scientific journal PLOS One, it is possible to see different dolphins hunting different animals at different times. One of them manages to catch 69 resident fish, 64 bottom fish (that live on the seabed) and five near the surface. Two other dolphins were spotted catching 135 native fish in the ocean. Also, one of them was observed eating eight yellowbellied sea snakes (Hydrophis platurus).
A total of six animals of the species were observed and identified with the following letters: B, K, S, Y, T and Z.
Watch the moment S Dolphin catches fish in San Diego Bay (USA):
Researchers also studied eye movements, catching strategies and movements of the dolphins’ lips, tongue, muscles and lower jaw as they hunted for food. They also observed the noises the animals made during the events.
From this, the scientists could see that the animals made “clicks” every 2050 milliseconds when searching for prey. According to the researchers, those “clicks” would be a type of echolocation the natural sonar sense used by dolphins, porpoises and whales to spot fish emitting sounds.
These sounds became more constant as the dolphins approached their prey and were followed by a cry of victory upon capture. Another oddity noted was that the animals used their eyes to accurately track prey.