A bottlenose dolphin nicknamed Bubbles at Australia’s Lady Elliot Island has been filmed chasing bigeye trevally until they vomit — then eating the regurgitated prey — in what researchers say is the first formal documentation of the behavior in dolphins, Discover Wildlife reported Thursday, citing a paper in Ecology and Evolution.
PhD candidate Romney Edwards-Francis of the University of the Sunshine Coast caught the behavior while snorkeling for the Leaf to Reef Project after reef guide Pieter Demmers and marine biologist Jacinta Shackleton tipped her off. Shackleton has watched Bubbles do it repeatedly: chase the fish, wait for the spew, scarf it down, then click as if bragging. The paper logs 20 foraging records from June 2021 to October 2025; 11 ended with Bubbles eating the fish’s regurgitated meal.
Scientists call it kleptoparasitism — stealing food from another animal. Frigatebirds pull a similar airborne stunt on noddies. The team figures forcing a reliable trevally school to surrender lunch is easier than hunting live prey on lean days. Whether other dolphins do the same remains unknown; underwater observations this specific are rare.
Sources: Discover Wildlife; Ecology and Evolution (study)
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