By: Carys Wee

In 2013, scientists found that a group of Atlantic spotted dolphins was migrating towards another community of the same species. When an animal invades another’s territory, the invaded group defends its borders, so the researchers thought a battle would start between the dolphins.

A research team saw 52 Atlantic spotted dolphins leaving their home at Little Bahama Bank in the northern Bahamas. They were headed 100 miles south of the Bimini islands, a destination already occupied by 120 members of the same species.

The scientists observed that the dolphins didn’t fight over their territory. Instead, they learned that when the groups bumped into each other it went smoothly. The scientist that was in the research group says that it appears that dolphins from different pods can join together and make a strong bond in a short time.

For 20 years the Dolphin Communication Project observed dolphins in Bimini. After the group noticed the new dolphins, Nicole Danaher-Garcia, a behavioral ecologist said, “All of a sudden we were seeing so many adults that we didn’t know.”

Source:

Dolphin Strangers Met in the Bahamas. Things Went Swimmingly. – The New York Times.pdf