It’s a rare and unbelievable natural occurrence of what’s called “mutualism”
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00:00Dolphins are pretty amazing creatures.
00:05In fact, they're likely the second most intelligent ones on the planet next to humans.
00:10And that might be why our two species work so well together.
00:12In fact, on the southern coast of Brazil, fishermen and dolphins have been working together
00:16to catch fish for nearly one and a half centuries.
00:19But how?
00:20Well, the dolphins swim into the shallows where fishermen stand ready.
00:22Then they chase schools of mullet towards the fishermen, who then cast their nets, catching
00:26many more than they likely would have otherwise simply by waiting.
00:29It's a wild natural synergy that has developed over time, with the dolphins even signaling
00:33for the fishermen to cast their nets.
00:35It's what researchers call mutualism, where two species help one another out.
00:38So what do dolphins get out of it?
00:40Well, when the fishermen cast their nets, the dolphins often dive deeper and increase
00:44their vocal clicks, with researchers saying they believe the fishermen's nets might disrupt
00:48the schools of fish.
00:49And underwater footage actually reveals the dolphins are able to snag fish from the nets
00:53themselves, with the mutualism both increasing the fishermen's catch while also increasing
00:57the dolphins' fish intake, bettering their chance for survival.