#macroctopus maorum

A Māori Octopus (Macroctopus maorum) or wheke in Tasmania, Australia

TACKLING THE KRAKEN - BOTTLENOSE USE UNIQUE STRATEGY TO EAT DANGEROUS PREY

Octopus handling is a highly risky behavior for bottlenose dolphins, especially if processing is not executed correctly. Octopuses, even headless, can cause death from suffocation, specially if are large preys. For an animal to engage in such a risky behavior, the nutritional value of the prey must be substantial.

Dolphins in Western Australia, were observed handling octopuses using two different methods. The shake style, where dolphins forcefully hits octopus onto the water, causing it to tear.

In the other method called toss, dolphins throwns octopuses over the surface of the water.

In some cases, a “shake” became a “toss” if the prey item tore and fragmented during the shake, and hence was then thrown across the water rather than being hit onto the water's surface. These results are published in the journal Marine Mammal Science.

Hence, while octopus handling appears to be relatively rare in the population, this prey and handling behavior might still be of great importance for dolphins, especially during periods when alternate prey may be limited. This complex prey handling behavior allows dolphins to process large prey type that may be risky to consume without processing 

Photo: An octopus handling event by an adult male bottlenose dolphin off Bunbury, Western Australia.