We were observing a group of bottlenose dolphins engaged in feeding rushes around our boat. As the dolphins moved away, we noticed a fish at the surface. It was still alive but could not move and survived only for a few minutes in a bucket of seawater. The fish (a 27cm-long mullet) had been fatally injured and carried fresh wounds left by a dolphin bite.
This observation offered insight on the relationship between a particular kind of surface behaviour by the dolphins and the prey being targeted.
(Photos by S. Bonizzoni and G. Bearzi, Northern Adriatic Sea)
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