Tailor Made Holidays in South Australia: In the News

Dolphins swimming on their tails in Southern Australia: 19-08-2008

A wild dolphin near Adelaide on the South Australia coast is teaching other members of its group to walk on their tails.

This behaviour is usually seen in dolphins that have trained in captivity and one of the group spent a short period in a dolphinarium nearly 20 years ago after falling ill.

Scientists are studying the group's behaviour and claim that the situation has never been seen among dolphins in the wild.

It could mean that certain behaviours are being adopted as part of culture.

Speaking to BBC News, Mike Bossley from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) said that the behaviour was something of a mystery.

"We're doing systematic observations now to determine if there's something that may trigger it, but so far we haven't found anything," he explained.

Travellers visiting South Australia can see many different species of wildlife in the region.

According to SouthAustralia.com, Beachside Gleneig is home to bottlenose dolphins and is just 15 minutes from the city.