Wild dolphins are learning from their captive brethren

Wild dolphins have learned how to walk on water by copying tricks developed by captive animals, a 30-year study found. Scientists in Australia observed that dolphins in Adelaide learned tail-walking – when the animal rises vertically out of the water and moves forward or backwards across it – from a dolphin called Billie which had spent time in a dolphinarium.

Dolphins rarely do this in the wild but it is a standard part of the routine in almost all dolphinaria. Billie learned tail-walking by observing the performing dolphins and, when released, began performing the trick regularly in the wild. The behaviour then faded away after a number of years, with the most prolific tail-walker dying in 2014.

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/dolphins-wild-walk-water-study-australia-billy-captive-tricks-a8512536.html