A recent interaction between researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast<\/a> and bottlenose dolphins is a prime example.<\/p>\n Latest Videos FromDigital Camera World<\/p>\n The encounter happened at Queensland Australia\u2019s Great Sandy Marine Park, between July and October 2025, where a research team led by Dr Alexis Levengood captured imagery of a behavior known as ‘shelling’.<\/p>\n The behavior is so rare that it’s only been published once before, but this is the first time it’s been officially recorded on the east coast of Australia.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n According to Dr Levengood, \u201cwe spotted a dolphin raising something large out of the water. I started screaming because I know what shelling looks like\u201d.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: University of the Sunshine Coast \/ Dr Alexis Levengood)<\/p>\n The animal behavioralist and marine mammal expert explained that the dolphins use ‘shelling’ to hunt for fish; the shell becomes an implement in which to trap prey. The mammals then shake the makeshift tool on the surface until their prize slides into their jaws.<\/p>\n I’m no marine life expert, but I am an avid wildlife lover and I certainly had no idea that dolphins did this.<\/p>\n To make matters even more interesting, the researchers observed both an adult female and its calf engaging in the behavior, leading them to deduce that the juvenile had learned from its mother.<\/p>\n \u201cOur footage provides the first potential evidence of maternal social transmission \u2013 a process by which offspring learn behaviour by observing the actions of its mother,\u201d said Dr Levengood. \u201cIt challenges the belief that dolphins learn this tool use from their peers.\u201d<\/p>\n What to read next<\/p>\n In a world of hobbyist and professional photographers aiming to capture the very best photos possible, it can be easy to forget that imaging is also used purely for surveillance, observation and documentation.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not about capturing an attractive image, it\u2019s about clearly capturing the moment for posterity.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a wildlife enthusiast first and a photographer second, and are looking for a camera to complement your bird or wildlife-watching setup, I\u2019d buy this monster $1000 all-in-one bridge camera<\/a>.<\/p>\n You might also like…<\/p>\n Take a look at the best cameras for wildlife photography <\/a>and the best wildlife photography lenses<\/a>. Plus, stay up to date via the latest camera news<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a world where many creatives are facing an increasingly uncertain future, it\u2019s nice to be reminded that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":597052,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[61,60,82,263],"class_list":["post-597051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=597051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/597052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=597051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=597051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=597051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Dolphin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Eb6PABS4jTeU2cLubc29TD.jpg\")
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