Australian dolphins captured using seashells as makeshift fish traps

Marine biologists aboard a research vessel off Hervey Bay witnessed a Pacific bottlenose dolphin hoist a seashell out of the water and release it to ensnare fish, a behavior now documented on video. The clip, captured in 2025, shows the dolphin holding the shell aloft, dropping it, and then retrieving a fish that escaped the makeshift trap. In a separate recording, a mother dolphin and her calf performed the same maneuver, indicating possible maternal transmission of the skill.

Although similar actions were reported in Shark Bay in 2013, this is the first visual confirmation of dolphins using shells as tools. The researchers propose that the behavior could have arisen independently in distant populations or may be more widespread than currently known. The discovery underscores the cognitive sophistication of dolphins and offers a new perspective on the origins of tool use in animals. Lead author Alexis Levengood emphasized that such insights also shed light on human evolutionary pathways toward tool use.