News Animals

Dolphins and humans team up to catch fish in Brazil

Cooperation both within and between species is essential for the longstanding tradition

An dolphin's back emerges arced from the water as it dives down. A fishing net is being held in the foreground.

Generations of fishers in southern Brazil take their net-casting cues from dolphins, which herd fish toward shore. By working together, both species benefit by catching more fish.

Fabio G. Daura-Jorge/Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

By Brianna Randall

Many hands make light work. Or, in the case of cooperative interspecies foraging in southern Brazil, flippers and hands catch more fish together.