A dolphin mother teaches her calf to rub on medicinal corals. (Angela Ziltener)

Dolphins Use Coral 'Clinics' For Skincare

2022-05-22 04:09:50

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) A dolphin mother teaches her calf to rub on medicinal corals. (Angela Ziltener) Angela Ziltener/UZH

Dolphins are rubbing up against certain types of coral to help alleviate skin conditions, research by a Swiss and German team suggests.

This content was published on May 21, 2022 - 13:29 May 21, 2022 - 13:29 UZH/ilj

The findings, published in the iScience journalExternal link this week, have shown that these corals have medicinal properties.

Researchers wanted to know why some Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins rub against certain corals. Co-lead author Angela ZiltenerExternal link , a wildlife biologist at the University of Zurich (UZH), first observed the behaviour in the Northern Red Sea, off the coast of Egypt, thirteen years ago.

She and her team noticed that the marine mammals were selective about which reef corals they rubbed against.“I hadn't seen this coral rubbing behaviour described before, and it was clear that the dolphins knew exactly which coral they wanted to use,” said Ziltener in a UZH statement on ThursdayExternal link .“I thought, 'There must be a reason.'”

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