This new footage, which shows what they do when no one is watching, might make you think twice before getting too close to one in the wild.
Researchers in the United States placed GoPro cameras on six free-swimming bottlenose dolphins to capture how they searched for and caught their prey during normal foraging.
By fitting them with cameras, scientists were able to see in detail how they moved through the water and how they swam, hunted, caught, and ate their prey in real time.
The project was led by the late Sam Ridgway, a pioneer in marine mammal science who earned the nickname “Dolphin Doctor” for his decades of groundbreaking work.
Across the group, the dolphins swallowed hundreds of fish and even snacked on unexpected prey like venomous sea snakes. What surprised the researchers most was the way the animals did it.
Ridgway’s audio recordings showed that dolphins tracked their targets using rapid sonar clicks, then let out excited squeals once they finally grabbed something.
But the GoPro recordings showed something different. The dolphins actually used suction to pull prey into their mouths. They did this by expanding their throats and pulling their lips back to create strong suction.
Watching them suck fish into their mouths may change how some people see dolphins, since the footage is far more intense than their cute reputation suggests.
The camera captured the dolphin shaking its head in victory after grabbing the snake, followed by a loud squeal of success.
Even though this meal was risky, the dolphin showed no signs of being harmed afterward, according to the researchers.
“On approaching prey, click intervals shorten into a terminal buzz and then a squeal. Squeals were bursts of clicks that varied in duration, peak frequency, and amplitude.”
“During captures, the dolphins’ lips flared to reveal nearly all of the teeth. The throat expanded outward.”
“Fish continued escape swimming even as they entered the dolphins’ mouth, yet the dolphin appeared to suck the fish right down.”
Another added: “Freaking dolphins. Second biggest bastards of the mammal world.”
And a third remarked: “Everything seems to emit a triumphant squeal when they catch their prey.”
