A rare event was captured on film in Wales last week, when a pod of four bottlenose dolphins attacked and killed a two-year old common dolphin calf.
It has been speculated that increased numbers of common dolphins in UK waters in recent years means there is territorial conflict with the more established bottlenose populations. The Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme (CSIP) said that the instances of bottlenose dolphins targeting and killing juvenile common dolphins was on the increase in UK waters.
Bottlenose dolphins frequently attack and kill harbour porpoise, and even their own calves, but until now this so-called “interspecific infanticide” (targeting another dolphin species), had not been observed in Wales.
Photo credits: Richard Lovelock
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