Those Dolphins That Wear Sponges - Properly Clever

By Olivia Taylor Category: The Animal Kingdom 24th June 2026

Listen, I have seen a lot of party tricks in my time, but dolphins shoving a sponge on their snout and going to work is a new kind of classy. Off Shark Bay, Western Australia, a clique of bottlenose dolphins takes a marine sponge, fits it over the tip of their beak like a Kevlar mitten, and then noses into the seafloor hunting for fish hiding in the sand.

This isn't a one-off cosplay affair. Scientists call it "sponging" and it counts as bona fide tool use: the sponge cushions the dolphin's rostrum from abrasion and stings, lets them probe crevices, and probably muffles the surprise of whatever grub was sleeping in the mud. The sponge acts like a little diving helmet and yes, it looks ridiculous - in the best possible way.

Here comes the juicy bit: sponging is cultural, not genetic. Mothers teach their offspring, and the trick travels down matrilines. Mostly females do it, which is odd and deliciously specific - like an aunt passing down a family recipe and reminding everyone it works if you stop messing about. Researchers have watched calves copy their moms, sponge in mouth, and graduate into full-on professional foragers.

It tells you two things about dolphins: they are clever, sure, but also sociable learners with local traditions. Tool use in the wild is headline material because it proves animals can invent solutions and then gossip them into group behaviour. Dolphins sponging are a textbook case of animal culture - not the kind you pay for, but the kind that changes how a community eats.

Years ago I caught a nature show about these blokes and I still grin. Picture a sleek dolphin, elegant and smug, nosing the ocean floor wearing sea-sponge headgear like it owns a small hardware store. It's practical, it's evolved, and it's got personality. What more could you ask of a mammal that already does flip-turns for fun?

So next time someone tells you animals are instinct-bound robots, tell them about the Shark Bay spongers. They improvise, they teach, and they look absurdly fashionable doing it - which, between you and me, is the highest form of civilisation.