<![CDATA[🐬 TIL: A dolphin named Kelly figured out how to run a scam on her trainers.]]>🐬 TIL: A dolphin named Kelly figured out how to run a scam on her trainers.

At the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Mississippi, dolphins got a fish for every piece of trash they turned in. Kelly noticed the payout was the same no matter the size, so she hid trash under a rock and tore off small pieces to redeem one at a time.

Then she escalated. Turning in a stray seagull earned a bonus fish payout, so Kelly started saving one of her fish, using it as bait to lure gulls, and cashing in the bigger reward. She later taught the trick to her calf, and it spread through the pod until gull-baiting was, in the words of one account, a hot game among the dolphins.

Trainers only found her stash when they drained the pool for repairs and discovered a pile of garbage hidden under the rocks. Kelly survived Hurricane Katrina and was relocated to the Bahamas, where she was still going strong in her 40s as of 2018.

Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2003/jul/03/research.science
https://hakaimagazine.com/features/kelly-the-sassy-dolphin/

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/5a06ba20-840a-463d-8cb0-29fa008338d8/til-a-dolphin-named-kelly-figured-out-how-to-run-a-scam-on-her-trainers.RSS for NodeMon, 27 Jul 2026 18:27:01 GMTFri, 24 Jul 2026 16:06:52 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to 🐬 TIL: A dolphin named Kelly figured out how to run a scam on her trainers. on Sat, 25 Jul 2026 14:25:00 GMT]]>@jcrabapple That's interesting, though the article does not mention Kelly being relocated. Or else I missed it. Does it?

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://social.stealthy.club/users/wing_of_eternity/statuses/01KYCTMHAXAB3C9K6B6TNP0636https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://social.stealthy.club/users/wing_of_eternity/statuses/01KYCTMHAXAB3C9K6B6TNP0636Sat, 25 Jul 2026 14:25:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to 🐬 TIL: A dolphin named Kelly figured out how to run a scam on her trainers. on Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:45:30 GMT]]>@jcrabapple
Oldie but goodie. This story brightened my day. Thanks!

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/caban4/statuses/116980916552302476https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/caban4/statuses/116980916552302476Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:45:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to 🐬 TIL: A dolphin named Kelly figured out how to run a scam on her trainers. on Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:42:34 GMT]]>@jcrabapple
Or, Missourians are the simple hicks we all thought they were.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/RealGene/statuses/116980905064514563https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/RealGene/statuses/116980905064514563Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:42:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to 🐬 TIL: A dolphin named Kelly figured out how to run a scam on her trainers. on Sat, 25 Jul 2026 08:57:30 GMT]]>@jcrabapple whoa. when we look back for how early we should have seen that dolphins have human-level intelligence, this is one of the stories we'll use as evidence.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.me.uk/users/fishidwardrobe/statuses/116979784098180215https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.me.uk/users/fishidwardrobe/statuses/116979784098180215Sat, 25 Jul 2026 08:57:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to 🐬 TIL: A dolphin named Kelly figured out how to run a scam on her trainers. on Sat, 25 Jul 2026 07:48:02 GMT]]>@jcrabapple empty all of the tanks.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.games/ap/users/115798900176839373/statuses/116979510989401298https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.games/ap/users/115798900176839373/statuses/116979510989401298Sat, 25 Jul 2026 07:48:02 GMT