Some bottlenose dolphins have learned to use tools to help them fish, a clever technique that can be passed from mother to calf. Scientists in Australia observed dolphins chasing fish into empty seashells and bringing them to the surface before putting the prey in their mouths. A baby dolphin was also seen copying its mother by picking up a large shell in the same way. The behavior, known as bombardment, is documented in a paper recently published in the journal Marine Mammal Science. The findings mark the first time evidence of tool use by dolphins has been documented on video and suggest it may be a more common behavior than previously thought. Use Your Tools Scientists once believed that relying on tools separated humans from animals, but research has shown that’s not entirely true. Chimpanzees use stones to crack nuts and twigs to catch termites, elephants use tree branches to swat flies, and crows even make their own tools by bending twigs into hooks to catch their prey. It is no surprise then that dolphins, being very intelligent creatures, are no different. Tour guides near Queensland’s Great Sandy Marine Park in Australia have previously reported seeing dolphins shelling since 2019, but so far it has not been documented. Researchers documented a dolphin named Stevie Nicks in the Great Sandy Marine Park holding a shell above the water surface on July 6, 2025. Credit: Alexis Levengood/University of the Sunshine Coast While studying dolphins off the east coast of Australia, the researchers behind the new study spotted two adult females using seashells as a fishing tool in July and October 2025. On July 6, 2025, An adult female dolphin named Stevie Nicks lifting a shell out of the water. However, the researchers did not see any fish emerge from the shell and therefore could not determine whether the dolphin’s attempt was a successful hunt. Later on October 1, 2025, another female, named Maserati, was seen carrying a shell to the surface before a fish escaped. The dolphin dropped the shell and chased the fish; researchers aren’t sure if it ended up catching it or not. Surprisingly, Maserati’s baby Bentley was seen mimicking its mother’s behavior moments later, surfacing with the same shell above the water. The images show a possible lizardfish peeking out of the shell. Still, researchers cannot confirm whether the dolphin ate it. Shared behavior Prior to the recent article, bombings had only been reported in Shark Bay, Western Australia. By documenting the same behavior in Queensland, researchers were able to show dolphins on opposite sides of Australia learning to use tools in exactly the same way. This suggests that different dolphins developed the same technique independently of each other. Since shelling was not documented for so many years, researchers believe it is much more common among dolphins in Australia, as well as other parts of the world. “So why do some dolphins make shells? Is it to take advantage of an opportunity to help them hunt? Is it possible that it helps reduce competition for food among other dolphins by using a special skill set they learned? Is it just a cool trick for dinner?” wrote Alexis Levengood, professor of animal ecology at the University of the Sunshine Coast and lead author of the study. “There are still many things we don’t know, and we hope to ask many questions and answer them over time.”
