Dolphin vs Python, who is the final winner? The three scientists recorded the whole process with their lenses
Three scientists from the Rio Grande do Sul Federal University reported evidence of several Bolivian river dolphins "playing" with beni pythons in the Tijamuchi River in Bolivia. In their paper, published in the journal Ecology, there are photographs of dolphins and pythons wrestling in the river.
Bolivia River dolphins, as the name suggests, live in rivers rather than oceans. They are related to the Amazon River dolphins and live in the Upper Madeira Basin, the Bolivian part of the Amazon River. Because the water is turbid and difficult to observe, little is known about these endangered dolphins, who spend most of their time underwater.
The Beni python is a two-meter-long python that lives only in Bolivia, and their habitat overlaps with that of the Bolivia River dolphins, and encounters are inevitable.
In the new study, the researchers observed several dolphins moving abnormally on the surface of the water while conducting field investigations. Out of curiosity, they took multiple pictures, and it wasn't until they reviewed them in the lab that they realized there was a python there.
An analysis of activity and associated timelines suggests that the dolphins are handling the snake in a "playful" way because they don't seem to intend to eat it, and the python is passed between several dolphins like a toy.
They also noticed that the group of adult male dolphins became excited while playing with the snake.
The researchers believe the adult dolphins may have used the opportunity to teach younger members of their group more about snakes. They also noted that the snake was trapped underwater for a long time and did not appear to be moving, suggesting that it was likely to have died in encounters with multiple dolphins #
