Scientists at Sarasota’s Mote Marine Laboratory have determined that dolphins name each other. According to the scientists, dolphins use distinctive whistles to call each other by name. They say that having names enable the dolphins to travel together in groups, a key to their survival.
One of the lead scientists in the study, Dr. Randall Wells, is a local researcher who’s been studying dolphins in Sarasota Bay for years. He said,”These whistles actually turned out to be names. They’re abstract names which is unheard of in the animal kingdom beyond people.”