Marine Mammals, features and articles | Educational Science

Jul 10, 2015

Deep-Diving Dolphins Avoid 'Bends' with Powerful Lungs

When dolphins dive deep below the water's surface, they avoid succumbing to decompression sickness, or the bends, likely because the massive sea creatures have collapsible lungs, a new study finds. These lungs allow dolphins to inhale and exhale two to three times quicker than humans. Understanding how dolphins breathe rapidly...

Sep 2, 2015

New Species of Ancient 'River' Dolphin Actually Lived in the Ocean

The fossilized remains of a new species of ancient river dolphin that lived at least 5.8 million years ago have been found in Panama, and the discovery could shed light on the evolutionary history of these freshwater mammals. Researchers found half a skull, a lower jaw with an almost complete...

Nov 4, 2015

Oil Spill Aftermath: Why Baby Dolphins May Be Rare in Gulf Waters

Bottlenose dolphins swimming in waters affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are dying earlier and birthing fewer calves than dolphins living in other areas, a new study shows. Just 20 percent of pregnant dolphins in Barataria Bay — a part of the Gulf of Mexico that was most heavily...

Aug 9, 2016

Mama Dolphins Sing Their Name to Babies in the Womb

DENVER — Humans aren't the only species whose members speak to their babies in the womb. Dolphin mamas appear to sing their own name to their unborn calves. New research suggests that dolphin mothers teach their babies a signature whistle right before birth and in the two weeks after. Signature...

Jan 5, 2017

Navy-Trained Dolphins May Help Save Endangered Porpoises

A team of Navy dolphins may be the last hope of survival for the planet's arguably cutest porpoises, called vaquitas (Phocoena sinus). Considered the world's most endangered marine mammal species, vaquitas, which have dark rings around their eyes and mouth, live only in the upper parts of the Gulf of...

Apr 6, 2017

Shake Well Before Enjoying: Dolphins 'Tenderize' Octopus Prey

Attempting to consume live octopus can prove deadly for predators, but dolphins have an innovative way to prep their dinner: They tenderize the meat by tossing it around. In a new study, researchers have detailed the eye-catching way dolphins eat octopus. Scientists observed bottlenose dolphins off the coast of Australia...

Apr 25, 2017

How Dolphins Do It in Water…with Weird, Complex Genitalia

Being a scientist can be a strange job. Like on the days when your work involves inserting the artificially inflated penis of a dead dolphin into the recently thawed vagina of another dead dolphin, all inside a CT scanner. For new research presented yesterday (April 23) at the annual meeting...

May 31, 2017

Death by Octopus: This Dolphin Bit Off More Than He Could Chew

A dolphin named Gilligan might have bitten off more than he could chew when gulping down an octopus. The corpse of the dolphin, with the dead cephalopod's sucker-lined arms hanging out of its mouth, washed up on Stratham Beach in Western Australia on Aug. 30, 2015. Now, after a thorough...

Jun 14, 2017

In Photos: A Rare Albino Risso's Dolphin

Pod life (Image credit: Kate Cummings/Blue Ocean Whale Watch)This albino Risso's dolphin was spotted near Moss Landing in California on June 7, 2017 by Blue Ocean Whale Watch. The juvenile was swimming with its mom and a pod of about 50 other Risso's dolphins, including many juveniles. [Read the full...

Aug 23, 2017

Ancient 'Strange-Face' Dolphin Used Its Snout to Vacuum Up Food

A now-extinct dwarf dolphin whose name means weaponless-snouted strange face may have once used its toothless mouth to suck up fish and squid, a new study finds. The finding suggests that modern dolphinsand whales developed bizarre forms of feeding within only a few million years after they evolved, the researchers...

Sep 10, 2017

Dolphins Evacuated by Helicopter in Cuba, Ahead of Hurricane Irma

On Sept. 7, in the hours before Hurricane Irma struck Cuba, workers raced against the clock to secure six dolphins housed at an island aquarium on the northern coast, preparing them for an airlift that would transport them to a safer location farther south. Images shared on Facebook by the...

Sep 10, 2018

These Dolphins Taught Each Other to Moonwalk — But It Was Just a Fad

A pod of wild dolphins living Down Under can literally walk on water, thanks to some instruction from Billie, a wild dolphin who learned the trick while she was briefly held in captivity, a new study finds. The feat highlights how dolphins can learn incredible skills from one another in...

Sep 10, 2018

Watch: Dolphin Superpod Chases Billions of Baitfish in Monterey Bay

Over a thousand common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) jumped and splashed together near the coast of Cannery Row in California's Monterey Bay in the week leading up to Labor Day. A sight for the eyes, this superpod of dolphins — made up of smaller pods or groups that typically stick together...

Feb 1, 2019

World's First Dolphin Spinal Tap Cranks Marine Medicine Up to 11

In an apparent world first, veterinarians have successfully performed a spinal tap on a live dolphin. That dolphin, who underwent the procedure at SeaWorld San Antonio, is named Rimmy. She is a bottlenose dolphin, about 3 or 4 years old, who was rescued from Texas' Sea Rim State Park off...

Sep 16, 2021

Slaughter of more than 1,400 dolphins in the Faroe Islands sparks condemnation worldwide

Warning: This article contains graphic images. Hunters in the Faroe Islands riding speed boats and jet skis ambushed and slaughtered a super-pod of more than 1,400 white-sided dolphins on Sunday (Sept. 12), leading to outcry from conservationists and even some supporters of the archipelago's centuries-old tradition of killing the marine...