Dolphin Schools and Cory’s Shearwater Are a Team Effort for Survival
In Dolphin Schools and Cory’s Shearwater Are a Team Effort for Survival, narrator Sir David Attenborough captures an extraordinary sight of 500 dolphins leaping through the water and then hunting in coordination with Cory’s shearwaters — seabirds in the waters around the Azores, volcanic islands located 1,000 miles west of Portugal. The dolphins use teamwork to herd schools of mackerel toward the water's surface, where the fish become easy prey for the diving shearwaters. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
Lesson Express
Q: Why do dolphins work together when hunting mackerel?
A: It is difficult for a single dolphin to catch a fish, so they work as a group to trap the fish near the surface of the water, making it easier to catch them.
Q: What role do Cory’s shearwaters play in this hunting scene?
A: Cory’s shearwaters are seabirds that dive down into the water to catch the mackerel that the dolphins have driven to the surface.
Q: How do dolphins block the mackerel from escaping?
A: The dolphins drive the mackerel upward toward the surface, trapping them so that the fish cannot retreat back into deeper water.
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In Feeding in the Tides Off Nova Scotia, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores the large tides off of Nova Scotia and the humpback and finback whales that come to feed. Learn about the finback whale, the fastest whale and second-largest animal in the world. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.