This is amazing!
A study has found male bottlenose dolphins use "names" to recognise their friends...and rivals.
It means they're the only animals apart from humans that give names to members in their social circle.
Scientists at the Centre of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Western Australia studied 17 adult male bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay.
They discovered each dolphin has their own signature whistle, which is like a human name.
This allows them to track friends and competitors and develop complex social relationships.
The research, published in the journal Current Biology, also found that unrelated males team up in groups of two to three and form friendships.
This improves their chances at finding and breeding with females.
Leader author Dr Stephanie King said male dolphins used physical displays to show the strength of their bonds, some of which can last their lifetimes.
This includes petting and and performing synchronous behaviours.
Drone footage has shown they sometimes even swim with their fins laying on top of each other, as if holding hands.
So cute!
