Australian dolphins learn to use tools while hunting and pass the skill to their calves

Scientists off Australia's east coast have documented a form of intelligence never before recorded in the region: bottlenose dolphins using tools while hunting and teaching the skill to their offspring.

A team from Southern Cross University managed to film dolphins using large, empty sea shells like buckets, scooping fish into them before eating their catch. Researchers have named the technique "shelling." The behaviour was recorded in both July and October 2025, showing it is not a one-off occurrence but a consistent practice.

Mother and calf

In one recorded episode, a female dolphin named Maserati lifted a shell above the water, poured out the water along with a fish, and chased after it. Just minutes later, her calf Bentley picked up the same shell and repeated the exact same action — holding it the way his mother did and slapping it against the water's surface to reveal the prey hidden inside.

Lead researcher and marine mammal expert Dr. Alexis Levengood notes this is the first video-recorded evidence that dolphin calves learn tool use directly from their mothers, rather than only from other members of the pod.

An independently observed phenomenon

Similar behaviour had previously been documented only once, nearly 20 years ago, in Shark Bay on Australia's west coast — more than 6,000 kilometres from the new observation site. Researchers point out that dolphins on opposite sides of Australia developed the exact same technique entirely independently of one another.

Scientists explain that the method requires considerable skill: finding a suitable empty shell, manoeuvring it correctly, and finally extracting the fish. Researchers believe that as more dolphins observe the technique in action, it could spread rapidly among other marine animals as well.