A lonely bottlenose dolphin in the Baltic Sea with no friends may have started chatting to himself in order to stay cheerful, a new study has suggested.
The male dolphin, named Delle by locals, has perplexed scientists because he traipses round the ocean on his tod. Experts have observed Delle drifting into the Svendborgsund channel in Denmark, which is far outside the usual range of the species. Bottlenose dolphins are highly sociable animals and have been known to call each other with “signature whistles” – Delle seems to be whistling to an audience of just one.
Scientists have recently investigated the animal’s unusual behaviour, using underwater recording devices to pick up Delle’s noises. They found the lonesome dolphin was surprisingly vocal and his calls lacked “intentionality”, as there were no recipients for his signals in the channel.
READ MORE: Swimmer ‘lucky to be alive’ after attack from sex-mad dolphin terrorising town
READ MORE: Sex pest dolphin terrorises beachgoers as it keeps trying to romp with them
(Image: Belga/AFP via Getty Images)
“If the dolphin’s solitary status was unknown, one might conclude that the recordings captured a group of three different dolphins,” they wrote. “It is highly unusual that the dolphin produced these sounds without any conspecifics present.”
The experts said they “lacked a clear explanation” for the phenomenon, but that Delle’s “self-talk” could be a byproduct of the animal’s need for social interaction.
A swimmer in Japan recently said lucky to be alive after being attacked by a randy dolphin terrorising a town.
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Takuma Goto was swimming 60ft off Tsuruga in Japan with a pal last month when they were confronted by the sexually frustrated creature.
First it targeted his friend before going for him when he went to help. “I knew it was not a shark but it came straight at me,’’ said the 23-year-old financial sales worker. “It attacked me and bit me.
“It kept attacking me and I genuinely believed that I was going to die. I was most worried that I was going to be dragged under the water and further out to sea.’’
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