Dolphins get
to know their friends by tasting their pee, a new study finds.
By sampling sips of each
other's urine, dolphins demonstrated a type of social recognition that begins with an exchange of whistles that are unique to specific individuals
Scientists have long
known that dolphins identify themselves using signature whistles that are different for each dolphin
Recently, scientists learned
that not only do bottlenose dolphins demonstrate name recognition, they also replicate this recognition with another sense: taste.
By tasting each other's
urine the dolphins showed that they could keep track of dolphin identities using two types of sensory input.
This means the animals
could create and store a mental concept of other dolphins, according to the new study.