The Dark Side of Dolphins No One Ever Talks About

It's hard to think of two words that are combined less frequently than dolphins and evil. However, don't let all the pro-dolphin propaganda fool you. There's a real dark side to our favorite flippered friends. From attacks on humans, to attacks on each other, to just straight up acting like jerks, science has shown us that our favorite ocean-going mammals are much more problematic than many of us think. Let's take a closer look. Let's set the tone with a little story. In the 1960s, a young researcher named Margaret Howe Lovatt participated in a NASA-funded experiment to teach dolphins to understand and possibly mimic human speech. Throughout the experiment, Lovatt lived in a partially flooded house with a dolphin named Peter, with whom she developed a unique and, let's say, controversial bond. As the experiment progressed, Peter began exhibiting sexually aggressive behavior toward Lovatt, which culminated in her having to, uh, physically manage his advances. Keep in mind, these were the days of Flipper being on TV. Nobody had the slightest idea that dolphins were capable of such things. In fact, the results were so off-putting that the research was rarely discussed in public. Still, it's a stark reminder that despite their playful and intelligent image, dolphin behavior is much more complex. Dolphins are highly social animals that live in groups called pods. These pods can vary in size and are often based on complex social structures and hierarchies. For centuries, dolphins have been adored for their cute appearance and surprisingly human-like traits. And it's true that their large brains make them some of the most intelligent sea creatures. In fact, they share lots of behaviors with humans, such as forming groups, mourning their dead, and caring for elders. They even have distinct names for each other, which they communicate through unique whistles. But while they are indeed playful, often leaping out of the water, riding waves, and playing with objects, studies of dolphin behavior have revealed that things can get very dangerous when playtime is over. For instance, there are numerous recorded examples of dolphins attacking other marine animals such as porpoises, baby manatees, and baby sharks. These attacks can be very brutal, involving coordinated strikes and lethal force. Scientists speculate that these attacks may be driven by competition for food, territory, or simply aggressive tendencies. But it also seems that they might be just for fun, which is kind of worse. Human interactions with dolphins aren't always friendly either. There have been documented cases of dolphins attacking swimmers and divers, with incidents ranging from aggressive nudging to serious bites and ramming. Michael Mays, an underwater videographer, was once aggressively pursued by a male dolphin that kept pushing him to the ocean floor. While he was experienced enough to know how to handle the situation, many other scuba divers might not be as fortunate. The reasons behind such aggression towards humans remain unclear, but may be related to the dolphins' natural territorial instincts. Nevertheless, it's important to remember that just because they look friendly doesn't mean you don't need to keep your guard up when you're in the ocean. Sorry to say, it's about to get really dark for a second because dolphins have been widely observed practicing infanticide, also known as the act of killing young offspring. In fact, there is tons of footage showing male dolphins killing the calves of rival males to bring the mother back into estrus, thus giving them a chance to get her pregnant. This behavior has been observed in a lot of different wild animals, especially hippos, and it's often seen as a necessary strategy to increase reproductive success by eliminating the offspring of rivals. In 2013, scientists from Savannah State University recorded a wild bottlenose dolphin giving birth. Sadly, immediately after the birth, two male dolphins attacked the newborn calf. Fortunately, the calf survived the half-hour attack thanks to its mother's fierce defense. But this isn't always the case. It just goes to show that there are harsh and competitive dynamics at work inside dolphin pods, where the drive to reproduce can push some males and females to the worst acts imaginable. For instance, when breeding season arrives, there is fierce competition among dolphins for access to females. But unlike most species, where competition is between individual males, bottlenose dolphins use a unique tactic. They form gangs. Once established, the alliances will single out a female, rush at her, and then herd her away for a coercive mating session. During this aggressive corralling, the female often tries to escape repeatedly, but she will only succeed about one in four times. The males restrict her attempts at freedom by charging in, bashing her with their tails, headbutting, biting, and even body-slamming her into submission. In some cases, five or six males will team up to corral a single female, but there have been reports of groups as large as 14 working together. These aggressive mating behaviors seem to challenge the notion of dolphins as gentle and benign creatures. And it gets worse. Dolphin sexual aggression doesn't stop just with other dolphins. Humans can also become targets. Scuba divers and workers at places where dolphins are held in captivity have reported dolphins making advances, sometimes even forcefully. In fact, both male and female dolphins exhibit this behavior. In one case, a man named Malcolm Brenner was pursued by a female dolphin, leading to what he described as a love affair lasting a full year. If it were human, that dolphin would have been cancelled long ago. We already mentioned that dolphins live in complex social hierarchies. But not all interactions within a pod are harmonious. Researchers have noted many instances of bullying and social exclusion, where certain individuals are targeted and harassed by others. Weaker or younger dolphins can also find themselves ostracized and subjected to aggressive behaviors from their peers, leading to stress and reduced access to resources. Obviously, these social dynamics can significantly impact the well-being of individual dolphins, causing them to lash out. If they choose to do so, they might end up in worse condition. In fact, there are numerous reports of dolphins washing up on beaches with mysterious injuries likely caused by other dolphins. To make matters worse, these attacks don't appear to be driven by food shortages or territorial disputes, suggesting that dolphins might engage in such behavior simply out of aggression. And as you probably expected by now, this violent behavior extends beyond their own kind. There are thousands of observed reports of dolphins harassing other marine mammals such as seals, porpoises, and whales. Some dolphins have developed a unique way of playing with their food, such as fish-kicking or fish-whacking, where they use their tail flippers to smack fish high into the air, stunning them before eating them. Most of their aggression is directed at porpoises, which are not a food source or rivals. Emerging evidence shows dolphins wielding their beaks as clubs and slashing with rows of sharp teeth, bludgeoning porpoises to death by the hundreds, even though the two animals are virtually the same. Dolphins also play rough with octopuses, violently dismembering them before consuming them piece by piece. Perhaps most curious of all is the way dolphins use pufferfish as makeshift toys. Or maybe makeshift bongs is more appropriate. Pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin, which can kill a human within minutes, but dolphins have developed a habit in which they consume it in small amounts to experience a narcotic effect. In short, dolphins use pufferfish to get high, knocking them around until they inflate and then passing them around between one another. Like other species, dolphins in marine parks and aquariums often exhibit behavioral changes due to the confined environment. In fact, it seems their violent behaviors can sometimes be exacerbated by their perceived imprisonment. Aggression towards other dolphins and even their human trainers can increase in captivity, often driven by stress, boredom, and the lack of natural social structures. In 2012, an 8-year-old girl was bitten by a captive dolphin at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. The dolphin leaped out of the water and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the water before letting go. The attack was covered extensively on the local and national news and has prompted some parks to restrict how much people can interact with their animals. Wild dolphins are also known to bite. In some cases, people will even be pulled underwater without warning. One report tells the story of a woman who fed a pair of wild dolphins and then decided to swim with them, only to be bitten on the leg, requiring a week-long hospital stay for her injury. In 2018, Andrew Hill was paddleboarding in Western Australia when a pod of dolphins surfed straight at him, knocking him off his board. Though he was unharmed, the incident highlights the potential danger of wild dolphins. But the worst story of all happened in Brazil in 1994. Two men approached a dolphin swimming close to shore. Though it was initially friendly, the dolphin suddenly rammed both men, causing internal injuries that led to one man's death. It's not quite Jaws, sure. However, it just goes to show that these animals are just that – animals. No matter how smart they are, they can still behave in ways that are unpredictable and dangerous. Dolphins are undoubtedly fascinating creatures. But their behavior is far more complex than the friendly, playful image might imply. From aggressive attacks and infanticide to sexual coercion and social bullying, the darker side of dolphins reveals the competitive and sometimes violent nature of their lives. The good news is that we can appreciate their playfulness and intelligence without assuming that they are any better than any other animal, including us. After all, we humans dominate the planet, but still display a wide spectrum of good and evil behaviors.