Scientists Filmed Dolphins Using a Rare Shell Trick to Catch Fish

Researchers filmed dolphins off Queensland, Australia, using a rarely documented “shelling” technique to catch fish, according to a study published in Marine Mammal Science. The behavior, recorded in Hervey Bay by scientists from the University of the Sunshine Coast, shows a bottlenose dolphin chasing a fish into an empty sea snail shell. The fish believes it has escaped, while the dolphin grabs the whole shell, brings it to the water’s surface, and shakes it until the fish drops into its mouth. Shelling had previously been documented only in Shark Bay. The Queensland footage included an adult female shelling as a calf watched, then attempting the same method—suggesting possible learning through observation, though not definitive proof of teaching.