A dolphin named Bubbles makes other fish vomit, then eats it

In the waters off the southern Great Barrier Reef in Australia, a male bottlenose dolphin nicknamed Bubbles has been observed harassing and stealing food from local bigeye trevally. Bubbles chases the fish until it becomes stressed and regurgitates its meal. The dolphin then proceeds to consume the vomited food. This peculiar behavior has been the subject of a recent study published in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

The study's co-author, Asia Haines from the University of the Sunshine Coast, attributes Bubbles' reputation as a friendly dolphin to anthropomorphism, a tendency for humans to attribute human characteristics to animals. Haines clarifies that dolphins are indeed predators and actively hunt their prey, regardless of whether it was stolen from another species.

This behavior, known as kleptoparasitism, is not unique to dolphins and can be observed in various other species, including bees, bears, and birds. Examples of kleptoparasitism among animals include bees and wasps laying eggs in the nests of other wasps, bears and coyotes stealing food, raptors, gulls, and terns attacking and stealing food from other birds, skuas and frigatebirds robbing their food from other seabirds, masked shrikes stealing food from wheatears, and Eurasian blackbirds stealing smashed snails from thrushes. Hyenas and jackals are also known for their habit of stealing food.