Bottlenose dolphin adopts and cares for orphan whale calf, caught on video

Dolphin mom adopts whale calf, the first known case of a wild bottlenose mom adopting a calf of another species, as reported in a new study. The orphaned calf even learned to act like a bottlenose dolphin, gaining acceptance into the community ❤️ https://t.co/Gk9p7qbBiU pic.twitter.com/8bEblz2nFW

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Though female bottlenose dolphins are known for “stealing” babies, this is a unique case given the dolphin had its own offspring. Research into cross-genus adoptions in delphinids suggested that the foster mother’s inexperience and personality may have contributed to this unusual adoption.

According to the video by National Geographic, the orphan calf has even learned behaviours specific to dolphins during the time it spent with them, including surfing.