Great Barrier Reef dolphin uses unique feeding strategy

Researchers have documented a unique feeding behavior in a male bottlenose dolphin nicknamed ‘Bubbles’ near Lady Elliot Island in the Great Barrier Reef. According to a study published in Ecology and Evolution, the dolphin employs a strategy known as cleptoparasitism to obtain food.

Instead of hunting fish to consume them directly, Bubbles targets specific fish, such as carangids, and chases them to induce stress. This pursuit causes the fish to vomit their stomach contents, which the dolphin then consumes. Scientists from the University of the Sunshine Coast observed this sequence 11 times between 2021 and 2025.

The researchers suggest this may not be merely opportunistic behavior but a learned and refined strategy. It is believed the dolphin may use echolocation to select prey with fuller stomachs to maximize the nutritional reward from the expelled food.