Dolphins are notorious for some pretty scandalous behavior. This episode, Justine and Shelby tackle a listener question about whether dolphins really are bullies and, if so, why are they so popular.

Have a question? Email us: thatseapod@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: @thatseapod

Intro/Outro Music by: Gentle Jammers (AudioJungle)

References:

• Barney, E. C., Mintzes, J. J., & Yen, C. F. (2005). Assessing knowledge, attitudes, and behavior toward charismatic megafauna: The case of dolphins. The Journal of Environmental Education, 36(2), 41-55.
• Connor, R. C., Smolker, R. A., & Richards, A. F. (1992). Two levels of alliance formation among male bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 89(3), 987-990.
• Cotter, M. P., Maldini, D., & Jefferson, T. A. (2012). “Porpicide” in California: Killing of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) by coastal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Marine Mammal Science, 28(1), E1-E15.
• East, M. L., Thierer, D., Benhaiem, S., Metzger, S., & Hofer, H. (2022). Infanticide by Adult Females Causes Sexual Conflict in a Female-Dominated Social Mammal. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, 860854.
• Ebensperger, L. A. (1998). Strategies and counterstrategies to infanticide in mammals. Biological Reviews, 73(3), 321-346.
• Fordahl, C. (2024). Beyond animal charisma: A sociological approach to charismatic species. Conservation and Society, 22(1), 14-24.
• Gehrke, C. (2026). Animal Celebrities—Then and now: Exploring oceanic imaginaries through celebrity marine mammals. Ocean and Society, 3.
• Gehrke, C., & Menzel, A. (2026). Ocean Pop: Marine Imaginaries in the Age of Global Polycrisis.
• Le Boeuf, B. J., & Briggs, K. T. (1977). The cost of living in a seal harem. Mammalia, 41(2), 167-196.
• Maglieri, V., Vantaggio, F., Pilenga, C., Böye, M., Lemasson, A., Favaro, L., & Palagi, E. (2024). Smiling underwater: Exploring playful signals and rapid mimicry in bottlenose dolphins. Iscience, 27(10).
• Pal, S. K. (2001). Population ecology of free-ranging urban dogs in West Bengal, India. Acta Theriologica, 46(1), 69-78.
• Pusey, A. E., & Packer, C. (1994). Infanticide in lions: consequences and counterstrategies. Infanticide and parental care, 277-299.
• Ramos, E. A., Szczepaniak, I. D., Kaplan, J. D., & Reiss, D. (2022). Short Note Potential Infanticide Attempt of Common Bottlenose Dolphins. Aquatic Mammals, 48(2), 132-141.
• Reiss, D., Sickler, J., Gruber, S., Boyle, P., Elliott, E., Lemcke, K., ... & Newman, B. (2006). Dolphins in popular literature and media. Society & animals, 14(4), 321-349.
• Ronje, E., Piwetz, S., Whitehead, H., & Mullin, K. D. (2020). Intraspecific aggression towards common bottlenose dolphin calves, Northern Gulf of Mexico.
• Spitz, J., Rousseau, Y., & Ridoux, V. (2006). Diet overlap between harbour porpoise and bottlenose dolphin: an argument in favour of interference competition for food?. Estuarine, Coastal and shelf science, 70(1-2), 259-270.
• Vanderheyden, M., Chaignon, B., Car, C., Pilot, M., El Berbri, I., Marshall‐Pescini, S., ... & Berghänel, A. (2025). A Direct Observation of Infanticide by a Female Free‐Ranging Dog (Canis familiaris) Supports the Resource Competition Hypothesis. Ecology and Evolution, 15(12), e72727.
• Volker, C. L., & Herzing, D. L. (2021). Aggressive behaviors of adult male Atlantic spotted dolphins: Making signals count during intraspecific and interspecific conflicts. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 8(1), 36-51.
• https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/wildlife/dolphins