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Scientists Filmed Dolphins Using a Rare Shell Trick to Catch Fish

Researchers filmed dolphins off Queensland using a rare “shelling” technique that may be passed from adults to calves.

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Dolphins are the kind of smart that’s a little unsettling for an animal. The more we observe their behavior, the freakier they become.

As researchers report in Marine Mammal Science, dolphins off Queensland, Australia, have been caught on camera using a rarely documented hunting technique called “shelling.” It’s a simple but effective strategy that lulls its prey, in this case a fish, into a false sense of security before it gets gobbled up.

A bottlenose dolphin will chase the fish into an empty sea........

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