Dolphins have long been seen as cute, playful, highly intelligent creatures. However, deep beneath their friendly exterior lies a more sinister nature. Here are 6 dolphin evil facts that may make you think twice before swimming with them.
Aggressive Hunting Skills
While dolphins seem peaceful, they are carnivorous marine mammals that hunt and kill prey. Dolphins use echolocation and teamwork to aggressively hunt fish, squid, and other small creatures for sustenance. Their powerful jaws full of sharp conical teeth can deliver deadly bites. Reports indicate groups of dolphins occasionally go rogue and kill porpoises or baby sharks just for practice, not even to eat them.
Playing with Prey
Dolphins have been observed torturing and playing with their food before eating it. They will toss fish in the air repeatedly using their beaks or tails before finally consuming the tired prey. They even seem to pass live prey amongst themselves as if playing a sadistic game of catch. Scientists have found traces of bites and injuries on some dead prey discarded by dolphins, suggesting that intelligent cetaceans know how to inflict pain for amusement.
Attacking Humans
While rare, there are reports over the years of dolphins attacking human swimmers. In 2012 off the coast of Ireland, a dolphin debilitated a bodyboarder, biting his hand and jumping out of the water to punch him with its nose. In 2014, dolphins dragged three swimmers in Cuba out to sea. The swimmers luckily managed to break free. Experts say lone male dolphins defending territory are often the culprits behind random human attacks.
Sexual Aggression
Male dolphins are notorious for their sexual aggression. Gangs of two or three male bottlenose dolphins isolate a single female in their pod and forcibly mate with her, sometimes for weeks at a time. This behavior has resulted in female dolphins’ deaths. Male dolphins have also made aggressive sexual advances toward human swimmers on rare occasions.
Evil Dolphins kill their own calves
Dolphins have been known to kill each other’s calves. Male dolphins may attack and kill babies to bring the mothers into estrus so they can mate with them. Both male and female adult dolphins may also kill calves to eliminate competition for resources. Dolphin pods have been observed ganging up to chase down mother-calf pairs and batter the calves to death.
Toxin Abuse
Dolphins have been observed “getting high” on pufferfish toxins. The dolphins will gently chew on pufferfish to stimulate the fish into secreting small doses of neurotoxin, then pass the pufferfish between pods. The toxins give the dolphins a trancelike, euphoric state. This wild dolphin behavior was captured on film for the first time in 2021.
What’s next?
Now that you know that dolphins are not so innocent and beneath their cute faces and whip-smart brains they have a dark side, think twice before playing with the innocent-looking sinister.
The true nature of dolphins needs further scientific study to better understand their aggressive hunting habits, violent sexual conduct, and lethal intrepid competition. Gaining more insight into dolphins’ intelligence can help shed light on how much premeditation drives their more sinister behaviors. Until then, view dolphins with a bit more caution – they may be smiling, but those sharp teeth lurk beneath.
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