Warren Nunn
Before a bottlenose dolphin eats an octopus, it shakes its prey and throws it into the air several times in what researchers describe as a tenderising process.
If the dolphin doesn’t do this, it could be fatal because an octopus has been seen to attach to and suffocate its would-be predator.
The researchers also observed that the process removed the octopus head and mantle, tenderised and ensured the arms were inactive, and broke the octopus into smaller pieces for consumption. Similar prey-handling behaviour has also been observed in seals and killer whales, for example.
This predator-prey scenario is a reminder of the Curse’s effect because carnivory was not present in the original, perfect creation.
- Above based on Shake Well Before Enjoying: Dolphins ‘Tenderize’ Octopus Prey, livescience.com, April 2017 and Complex prey handling of octopus by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), Mar Mam Sci., March 2017 | doi: 10.1111/mms.12405.
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