Dolphin news, features and articles
Explore Dolphins
Latest about Dolphins
Orcas are learning terrifying new behaviors. Are they getting smarter?
By Sascha Pare published
From sinking boats and feasting on shark livers to dining on whale tongue and tossing porpoises around for fun, orcas are displaying some fascinating — and sometimes terrifying — behaviors.
Orcas that hunted alongside humans might be extinct
By Patrick Pester published
Researchers used DNA analysis and traditional knowledge to learn about an orca named Old Tom and his family's remarkable relationship with humans.
Orcas are harassing and playing with baby porpoises in deadly game that has lasted 60 years
By Sascha Pare published
Scientists may have finally figured out why a population of orcas in the Salish Sea have been tossing porpoises around and taking them into their mouths without eating them.
Scientists investigate mysterious case of orca that swallowed 7 sea otters whole
By Elise Poore published
The female orca was found far from her normal hunting ground with six whole sea otters in its stomach and one lodged between its oral cavity and the esophagus.
Opportunistic orcas have developed a new feeding behavior that appears to be killing them
By Sascha Pare published
More orcas have died entangled in fishing gear in Alaska this year than in previous years, which may be linked to a "new behavior" where they feed in front of ascending fishing nets.
Lolita, the 2nd-oldest orca in captivity, who was set to be released to the wild, has died
By Harry Baker last updated
Lolita, also known as Tokitae, died before she could be returned to her native waters in the Pacific Northwest.
Watch orca tear open whale shark and feast on its liver in extremely rare footage
By Hannah Osborne published
The orca "slurped in the liver and then the whale shark just fell and descended down, with no movement," James Moskito of Ocean Safaris told Live Science.
Dolphins terrorize and bite beachgoers in Japan — for the 2nd year in a row
By Sascha Pare published
Four separate incidents on a beach in Fukui prefecture on July 16 echo a string of attacks in the same region last year that may have been perpetrated by a single Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.