Dolphins

The hunting pod is led by Moctezuma, an adult male, named after an Aztec emperor.

A Pod of Orcas Learned to Target and Feast on Whale Sharks, the Largest Fish in the Sea

Photos and videos of the apex predators reveal how they engage in coordinated hunts in Mexican waters to take down juvenile whale sharks

An orca named L82 Kasatka swims in front of Mt. Rainier, with a strand of eelgrass trailing from her dorsal fin. She belongs to the Southern Resident orca population, a critically endangered group in the northeast Pacific Ocean.

No, Orcas Probably Aren't Reviving the 'Dead Salmon Hat' Trend, Despite a Viral Photo, Experts Say. Here's Why

A recent photo of an orca swimming with a salmon on its head has fueled speculation that the fad, first observed in the 1980s, has re-emerged off the coast of Washington state. But some experts are less eager to jump to that conclusion

Bottlenose dolphins are highly social and typically live in pods.

A Solo Dolphin Is Chattering Away Off Denmark's Coast—Is He Talking to Himself?

Marine biologists are perplexed by the lone bottlenose dolphin's vocalizations, because some resemble sounds typically used for communication

Researchers collect exhaled breath from a wild bottlenose dolphin during a health assessment conducted by the National Marine Mammal Foundation and its partners in Louisiana's Barataria Bay.

Scientists Have Found Microplastics in Dolphin Breath for the First Time

Each of the 11 dolphins sampled exhaled at least one suspected particle of microplastic, which researchers say “highlights how extensive environmental microplastic pollution is”

Dolphins living in captivity often make an open-mouth facial expression while playing with each other.

Bottlenose Dolphins 'Smile' at Each Other During Playtime, Study Finds

Researchers still don't know what the open-mouth facial expression means or whether it's akin to smiling in humans—but several animals make a similar face during play

Orcas are the oceans’ apex predator, even outranking the great white shark, but their hunting behaviors are still not fully understood by scientists.

Rare Drone Footage Captures Orcas Feeding on Dusky Dolphins

The predatory pod hunts off the coast of Chile and is led by a matriarch called Dakota

A bottlenose dolphin photographed in Honduras shows its teeth.

A Dolphin Keeps Biting People in Japan. Researchers Think It's Just Lonely

A series of dolphin attacks in Wakasa Bay is believed to be the doing of a lone male bottlenose dolphin looking for friends or a mate—but finding only humans

The colorful mosaic depicts brightly colored dolphins and fish.

Archaeologists Stumble Upon a 2,000-Year-Old Dolphin Mosaic in England

The Roman-era artwork was likely preserved thanks to a remodeling project in the third or fourth century C.E.

Spinner dolphins swim in the Red Sea. Research has shown some dolphins are shy, while others are extroverted.

Five Amazing Dolphin Behaviors, Explained

From calling each other by name to using tools, these social creatures are a lot like us

The researchers used drone footage and tracking devices to analyze the behavior of 11 orcas in the northern Pacific Ocean.

Between Dives, Orcas Take Only a Single Breath

A new study finds the black-and-white marine mammals tend to make shorter, shallower dives compared to humpback and blue whales, making orcas the "sprinters" of the ocean

A subpopulation of orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar (not pictured) have interacted with roughly 700 boats since 2020, causing five of the vessels to sink.

Orcas Sink 50-Foot Yacht Off the Coast of Morocco

The vessel's two passengers were evacuated onto an oil tanker in the Strait of Gibraltar. The incident marks the fifth vessel the mammals have sunk in recent years

One difference between resident and transient killer whales is their fins. Residents have more rounded, curved dorsal fins, while those of transients are straighter and more pointed.

Two New Species of Killer Whale Should Be Recognized, Study Says

A couple of eastern North Pacific populations of orcas have qualities that set them apart, according to researchers

Why aren't there freshwater seals or dolphins in the Great Lakes?

Why Aren't Dolphins in the Great Lakes? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Eastern coyotes—a subspecies that has coyote, wolf and domestic dog DNA—run in a West Virginia forest.

Five Shocking Animal Hybrids That Truly Exist in Nature, From Narlugas to Grolar Bears to Coywolves

The now-famous “virgin” stingray Charlotte is not having hybrid babies, scientists say. But in nature, distinct species sometimes interbreed to produce surprising offspring

This artistic interpretation shows what Pebanista yacuruna might have looked like some 16 million years ago.

New Extinct Species of Giant Dolphin Discovered in Peru From a 16-Million-Year-Old Skull

Pebanista yacuruna is the largest freshwater dolphin ever found, but it is more closely related to today's river dolphins of South Asia than those in the Amazon

Northern gannets plunge into the water to hunt in Shetland. This image won the British Waters Wide Angle category.

See 15 Otherworldly Images From the Underwater Photographer of the Year Awards

A hunting monkey, 'kissing' scorpionfish and playful dolphins feature in just a few of the 130 striking photographs distinguished with honors in the competition

German researchers tested dolphins' ability to detect electric fields.

Bottlenose Dolphins May Have an Electric Sense, Study Finds

Dimples called vibrissal pits on the beaks of the mammals can perceive electricity and might help with hunting and navigation

After several attempts to dolphin-proof the bait, the team finally figured out a solution: a mesh bait pouch.

Watch Dolphins Outsmart Crab Traps in First-Ever Footage

Bottlenose dolphins in Australia have been snatching fish used to bait crabs—and adapting to fishers' attempts to thwart them

Orcas are highly social and are likely learning the boat-ramming behavior from one another.

Orcas Sink Another Boat in the Strait of Gibraltar

The crew is safe, but the marine mammals did so much damage to the Polish sailing yacht that it couldn't make it back to port

Researchers are still trying to confirm the cause of death, but they suspect the high water temperatures are to blame.

At Least 125 River Dolphins Have Died Amid Drought and Heat in Brazilian Amazon

Though the pink animals' cause of death is not confirmed, temperatures in the remote Lake Tefé reached 102 degrees Fahrenheit in late September

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