Fim Fed Da Mama Fiddy

We Aussies have one more thing to be proud of. Scientists from Georgetown University have discovered that some of our dolphins are the world's most advanced tool users among animals, second only to humans. And they're even teaching other dolphins how to do it.

Flipper would be proud. Well, actually, Mrs. Flipper would be proud, because it turns out that only the females seem able to learn how to do it.

In Shark Bay in Western Australia, scientists have discovered some bottlenose dolphins that have begun to use sponges to protect their noses as they hunt for fish in the coarse sand. By protecting their noses, the "spongers", as the scientists call them, are able to fish much longer than the dolphins that haven't figured out how to do so.

The whole story by Robert Lee Hotz is in the Wall St Journal here, but they may not let non-subscribers read it.

Some scientists think that only females learn the technique because they spend more time with their mother who teaches them while young males go off and hunt in packs. Kind of like home economics under water.

I would put forth another theory and suggest that the male's wife and mother actively discourage them from using tools - but perhaps I am just making this all about me.

The dolphins even go so far as checking out various types of sponges until they find one that fits just right. They can spend up to 10 minutes looking for the right one. Think of it as sponge shopping, and I think it helps to explain why only the females learn to do this.

No matter, it is still fascinating to see animals discover and begin to adopt things we once described as a purely human activity, such as using tools. The parallels between the dolphins at Shark Bay and humans are quite striking.

But there is one area where I noticed that dolphins were nothing like us humans. Hotz writes, "Only the daughters could be seen still sponging once they reached maturity. The sons tried it but almost always abandoned it."

I think you can figure out the punchline here yourself.