First observed wild birth and acoustic record of a possible infanticide attempt on a common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

Abstract

We observed the birth of a common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) followed immediately by a possible infanticide attempt in the estuary near Savannah, Georgia. Our report is unique in several ways: first, we witnessed the birth of the calf; second, we observed infanticidal behavior almost immediately afterward; and third, we obtained acoustic recordings concurrent with the possible infanticidal behavior. Our observations provide insight into aggressive, possible infanticidal, behavior in bottlenose dolphins.