That was August 2021. A team of biologists sailing on Bolivia's Tijamucci River suddenly spotted two Bolivian river dolphins – a rare species of pink dolphin, known for their elusiveness – in an extremely rare behavior that left human observers gaping. We used ChatGPT to tell us about the extraordinary event:
The two male dolphins swam in the water with their heads sticking out – behavior that in itself is no longer typical of this rare species, which usually hides in the water and reveals at most a single fin sticking out of the murky water. The scientists began taking pictures—and then noticed an even more astonishing detail than the rare privilege of watching these dolphins stick their heads out of the water: they were playing with a giant snake.
After carefully reviewing the images, the researchers identified the snake as a Benny anaconda. These are semi-aquatic snakes, known for their tremendous size and strength, but the dolphins seemed to have the upper hand during this fascinating encounter.
However, the behavior was so unusual that the scientists continued to study it, publishing their observations in the journal Ecology, revealing that this was not a battle in which the dolphins fought Anaconda. In fact, it's the exact opposite of that.
Dolphins, both in captivity and in the wild, are known for their playful nature, and this observation seems to have revealed a particularly extreme aspect of this playfulness. Investigators suspect that the dolphins were not trying to devour the snake, but were engaged in the form of play. The interaction lasted about seven minutes, during which time the scientists noticed that the dolphins' genitals were erect. According to marine mammal researchers, this suggests that the behavior may have had a sexual component, and that it is a kind of 'foreplay'.
The presence of younger dolphins during interaction raises intriguing questions. The adult dolphins may have instilled knowledge in the young, taught them about anacondas, or demonstrated hunting techniques. However, some experts remain skeptical of this explanation, arguing that the young people may have been there out of sheer curiosity.
The mystery deepens when examining the potential state of the anaconda before the dolphins caught it. Anacondas are powerful predators and have rarely been documented being eaten by other animals. This raises the question of whether the snake was injured or died before becoming a participant in this marine game.
This accidental observation provides a valuable glimpse into the lives of river dolphins, which are considered more mysterious and less understood than their ocean-dwelling counterparts due to the challenging conditions of observing them in the murky river waters. Scientists continue to try to understand this incident in depth, and we may know more about it in the future.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us