For the first time, scientists have documented "shelling," a rare dolphin tool-use behavior, outside of Shark Bay, Western Australia.

Researchers surveying Hervey Bay in Queensland's Great Sandy Marine Park recorded two events in 2025, according to a new study in the journal Marine Mammal Science. In July, an adult female nicknamed Stevie Nicks was seen balancing a large bailer shell on her rostrum (or snout) and lifting it clear of the water, a technique dolphins use to trap fish hiding inside empty sea snail shells and drain them into their mouths.

The second sighting, in October, was the bigger surprise. A drone captured a mother, Maserati, working a bailer shell until a fish slipped out and escaped. Three minutes later, her calf, Bentley, surfaced in the same spot with the same shell, holding it exactly the way mom had.

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That's a first. Previous research suggested dolphins pick up shelling from peers rather than parents, but this observation hints at a "do-as-mother-does" handoff instead.

How prevalent is shelling?

Shelling shows up in less than 2% of the Shark Bay population, and each attempt often lasts only seconds, so the authors suspect it's happening more often than anyone has noticed. Two additional shelling photos snapped from a local ecotour boat in 2013 and 2019 support that idea.

With just three dolphins observed, the team cautions that the mother-to-calf finding is suggestive, not settled, and says more surveys on both coasts are needed to figure out how the trick spreads.

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Lead editor Chris DeWeese edits Morning Brief, The Weather Channel's flagship newsletter.