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New government marine wildlife code to help reduce dolphin disturbance

The launch today by UK Government of new guidance on how to act responsibly around...

UK government to extend ivory ban to stop the sale of orca teeth

Following the UK ban on the import, export and dealing of elephant ivory in 2022,...

Dead whale beauty products to be sold in Japanese vending machine stores

Antarctic minke whale alongside Japanese whaling ship. Photo © Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert Japanese whale hunting company,...

Arrests made following illegal whale meat smuggling from Japan to South Korea

Customs authorities in Busan, South Korea, have arrested six people for allegedly smuggling at least...

Study reveals dolphins like to hang out with friends

A new study has shed more light on the social networks that dolphins form. Researchers observing a group of dolphins in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon have found that dolphins, just like us, hang out with friends in ‘gangs’:

The six year study revealed that the dolphins would mix with ‘friends’ in specific areas of the lagoon and would also avoid individuals they don’t like. Experts found that the shape and geography of the 156 mile long lagoon on the Atlantic Coast of Florida seemed to influence the social dynamics of the group too. Elizabeth Murdoch Titcomb, one of the research biologist involved in the study explained that those groups of dolphins that occupy the narrowest stretches of the lagoon have the most compact social networks, similar to humans who live in small towns and have fewer people with whom to interact.

It’s hoped study could shed light on how dolphin social networks transfer information, breeding behaviour and even diseases.

Dolphins like to hang out in groups