Shelling (fishing)
Shelling is a fishing strategy observed in dolphins, in which the dolphins voluntarily drive an agile aquatic prey toward a mobile empty sea shell used as trap. When the prey is in the shell, the dolphin grab the shell, move to the surface, and pour the shell's fluid content including the prey into its mouth. The behavior have been observed in bottlenose dolphin by Simon Allen, of the University of Bristol in England, and Michael Krützen, of the University of Zurich who have surveyed Shark Bay since 2007, collecting both genetic and behavioral data for more than 1,000 dolphins. 19 of them have been observed to use the fishing strategy of shelling a total of 42 times.
Shelling have been observed to spread among associates, a behavior which goes beyond the well documented mother-to-child learning.
