Complexity Digest 2005.23 - 08

06-Jun-2005

Sponging dolphins learn from mum, BBC News Bookmark and Share

Excerpts: Female dolphins are taught by their mothers how to use marine sponges to look for food, according to a study.

Female bottlenose dolphins are taught by their mothers to use marine sponges to look for food, according to a study.

The finding represents the first case of material culture observed in a marine mammal species.

An international team looked at wild dolphins from western Australia and used DNA analysis to investigate if the behaviour could be inherited.