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ScienceQuiet 3d · day 9

Dolphin named Bubbles harasses fish until they vomit, then eats the regurgitate

A male bottlenose dolphin off Australia's Great Barrier Reef has developed a novel hunting strategy of chasing bigeye trevally to stress-induced vomiting.

newest coverage 2d agosummary written 6d ago20 pieces92 likes & upvotes7 comments NewswiresMastodonGoogle NewsBlueskyReddit

What to know

  • Bubbles, a bottlenose dolphin off Australia's Great Barrier Reef, has developed a learned foraging strategy in which he chases bigeye trevally until stress causes them to vomit, then eats the regurgitated food.
  • Between June 2021 and October 2025, researchers documented 20 foraging sightings of Bubbles, with 11 showing kleptoparasitic behavior; he repeats this cycle up to 10 times per half hour.
  • The behavior, described in a paper published in Ecology and Evolution, is exceedingly rare among aquatic species and represents an energy-efficient alternative to conventional hunting.
  • Researchers suggest Bubbles may use echolocation to identify which fish have recently eaten the most, selecting for the most rewarding meals.
most voices

Dolphins are presented as jerks or intelligent jerks, undermining the romanticized cultural image of them as noble marine mammals.

  • “Bubbles the dolphin likes to steal food from other species. tl/dr: Bubbles is kind of a jerk. Flipper would never... right? RIGHT?”

    jenlucpiquant · Bluesky ↗

Bubbles Male bottlenose dolphinAsia Haines Co-author, University of the Sunshine Coast

Dolphin named Bubbles harasses fish until they vomit, then eats the regurgitate
arstechnica.com

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  1. 1

    Paper on Bubbles's behavior published in Ecology and Evolution

    The research documenting Bubbles's novel kleptoparasitic feeding strategy is published in the journal Ecology and Evolution. Haines explains that the behavior represents a learned strategy requiring less energy-intensive effort than chasing fast-swimming prey. She also notes that Bubbles prefers to forage alone, unlike dolphins that typically forage in groups.

    “This perception of dolphins as the 'good guys of the sea' has more to do with anthropomorphism—our tendency to assign human characteristics to them—and perhaps that's because dolphins appear to be smiling. Dolphins are predators and actively hunt their prey, whether it has been stolen from another species or not.”
    — Asia Haines

    • There is a bottlenose dolphin called Bubbles who is so irritating and ungovernable that a whole research paper was written about him Bubbles chases fish around until they vomit, so he can eat it https:// onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10 .1002/ece3.74270 # Marine # Dolphins # Science

      skinnylatte@hachyderm.ioMastodon5d ago22▲view on Mastodon ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 7 posts in this stretch
    • jenlucpiquant.bsky.social

      Bubbles the dolphin likes to steal food from other species. tl/dr: Bubbles is kind of a jerk. Flipper would never... right? RIGHT? “Dolphins are predators and actively hunt their prey, whether it’s been stolen from another species or not.”

      jenlucpiquant.bsky.socialBluesky6d ago18▲view on Bluesky ↗

    • Dolphins are alright when it comes to smartness, the real scary intelligent animals are Killer Whales.

      cyrilior/science5d agoview on r/science ↗
    all of them →
  2. background

    Study concludes with 20 documented sightings, 11 showing kleptoparasitism — Between June 2021 and October 2025, the research team collected 20 foraging sightings of Bubbles. Eleven of these sightings documented kleptoparasitic behavior—chasing fish until they vomit, then consuming the regurgitated food. Bubbles repeats this process up to 10 times in half an hour and only targets bigeye trevally.

  3. background

    Research study begins documenting Bubbles's behavior — Researchers, including co-author Asia Haines of the University of the Sunshine Coast, begin systematic observation of Bubbles's foraging tactics.

  4. background

    Bubbles first observed at Lady Elliott Island Eco Resort — Staff at the facility off Australia's southern Great Barrier Reef become acquainted with a male bottlenose dolphin they nickname Bubbles, who begins exhibiting unusual behavior around local bigeye trevally.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets A dolphin named Bubbles makes other fish vomit, then eats it

    first by Ars Science, 6d ago · also Ars Technica

    1 more headline

and 2 smaller pieces

What people are saying 2 voices from 2 sites · best of 7 · verbatim