Examining the role of play as related to individual and group social development is important to understanding a species. The purpose of our study was to examine whether there is a difference in the frequency of object play exhibited by dolphins from two groups – one captive and one wild. Data were collected with underwater video, with resulting videos event sampled for bouts of play involving various objects used by dolphins. From 159 hr of video data, roughly 102 min featured object play: 75 min of dolphins from RIMS and 26 min for dolphins near Bimini. A total of 304 bouts of object play were documented from or between dolphins at RIMS, while 73 bouts were observed byor between dolphins around Bimini. Juvenile dolphins engaged in solo and mutual play more thantwice that of other aged dolphins from both study groups, although this result was not statistically significant. Similarly, male dolphins at RIMS exhibited object play slightly more than females, though this difference was not significant: at Bimini, male dolphins were not observed to play with objects during interactions with conspecfics (mutual) and engaged in object play about half as oftenas female spotted dolphins. Combining both study groups, dolphins played with about 23 different objects that were grouped into six categories: biological debris, human made objects, inanimate objects, other (e.g., wood, etc), people, and trash. The RIMS dolphins played most with all objects except people while Bimini dolphins interacted with sand more than any other object. Dolphins have been shown to exhibit higher cognitive functions, of which complex play is one example. The role of play in animals is considered important to development and maintenance of social relationships and to learning skills required ultimately for survival.

Self-rubbing and social-rubbing (pectoral fin contact between dolphin pairs) were compared for observations conducted on three dolphin study groups: wild dolphin groups in The Bahamas and around Mikura Island, Japan, and a third group of captive dolphins at the Roatan Institute of Marine Sciences, Roatan, Honduras. A primary aim of this research was to determine whether self-rubbing and social pectoral fin rubbing served overlapping functions. Self-rubbing rates were nearly identical between the three study sites, suggesting that site-specific differences (e.g., environmental conditions, substrate, presence of rocks or coral, social grouping) do not affect the rates at which dolphins rub their bodies against non-dolphin objects. The function of self-rubbing is not entirely clear, and likely involves a combination of factors (e.g., play, pleasure), with functions such as hygiene possibly being shared by both self-rubbing and social-rubbing. Rubbing behavior in general (e.g., rates, body parts used) were similar at all three sites for all three species, suggesting that rubbing is an evolutionarily conserved behavior for delphinid species. Still, subtle and individually distinct differences were documented among our study groups with respect to how often and with whom dolphins exchanged pectoral fin contact or engaged in self-rubbing. Site-specific social pressures and predation risks, as well as individual personality might play a role with respect to the expression of an individual’s observed rubbing behavior.

Dolphin behavior has been observed in both captive and wild settings for years. Comparisons of captive and wild aquatic mammals have proven difficult because of limitations placed on observers in both arenas; still research conducted in each setting provides details often unavailable from the other environment. For example, internal body states (e.g., hormone levels) that might effect the expression of certain behaviors cannot readily be measured from wild dolphins; however, they can be routinely documented during husbandry behaviors. Conversely, detailed documentation of dolphin travel patterns is more readily available from long-term studies of wild dolphins; and while travel patterns are not applicable for study from captive individuals, observation of movement patterns within a pool can be examined to provide insight into an individual’s behavior or inter-individual interactions. Long-term observations from three captive and three wild dolphins study populations are presented comparatively to illustrate how work on groups in each setting can complement one another. Additionally, data from a survey of trainers (50 surveys distributed with 17 completed surveys received) suggests that dolphin trainers interpreted several behaviors in ways that were consistent with observations of wild dolphins. For example, tail slapping was reported mainly as irritation(45.5%) or frustration (22.7%), but was also suggested to occur in play (31.8%). Pectoral fin rubs were used in appeasement (15.4%), comfort (7.7%), and affection (26.9%) more so than in sexual(7.7%) contexts or not at all (7.7%). Jaw claps, hitting, biting, chasing and ramming were observed in aggressive contexts in both captivity and the wild. More significantly, there were no consistent differences between wild and captive dolphins reported by surveyed trainers. The author’s ongoing research program merges advantages from both environments to facilitate a more thorough understanding of dolphin communication and society.

Thinking flexibly is a skill that enables animals to adapt to changing environments, which enhances survival. Killer whales,Orcinus orca, as the ocean apex predator display a number of complex cognitive abilities, especially flexible thinking or creativity when it comes to foraging. In human care, smaller dolphins and other marine mammals have been trained to think creatively while under stimulus control. The results of these previous studies have demonstrated that bottlenose dolphins,Tursiops truncatus, can create original behaviors in response to an innovative cue. We trained and tested a total of nine killer whales from two different facilities on the innovate concept, using the same methodology. The killer whales ranged in age from 5 to 29 yrs with 4 females and 5 males. The results indicate that the killer whales demonstrated high fluency, originality, some elaboration, and flexibility in their behaviors. Individual variability was observed with younger animals demonstrating more variable behaviors as compared to the older animals. Males seemed to display less complex and lower energy behaviors as compared to females, but this impression may be driven by the age or size of the animal. These results support existing evidence that killer whales are dynamic in their thinking and behavior.