Watch Dolphins Outsmart Crab Traps in First-Ever Footage | Smart News [Video]

Dolphins in Australia have learned how to snatch bait from crab traps—and now, researchers say they’ve captured the clever behavior on camera for the first time ever.

The bait-stealing saga may have started two decades ago, when crab fishers off the coast of Bunbury, Western Australia, realized bottlenose dolphins were taking the fish they use as bait from their crab pots and nets. The interactions began occurring in Koombana Bay, a part of the Indian Ocean in far southwestern Australia, about 100 miles south of Perth.

Over time, fishers and local conservationists became concerned about the dolphins’ safety. They not only worried that the fish might be unhealthy, but they were also afraid the marine mammals would become entangled in their gear. And that’s a serious concern: In July 2022, a baby dolphin in Clearwater, Florida, became …