Porpicide in California: Killing of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) by coastal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Between 2007 and 2009, we witnessed three aggressive interactions between harbor porpoises and bottlenose dolphins in Monterey Bay, California. This is the first time such aggression has been documented in the Pacific, and the first time a harbor porpoise was collected immediately after witnessing its death, inflicted by bottlenose dolphins. Of the bottlenose dolphins present, 92% were males either confirmed (61%) or putative (31%). Since 2005, 44 harbor porpoise deaths inflicted by bottlenose dolphins were documented in California. Aberrant behavior was rejected as a cause of aggression, based on widespread documentation of similar behaviors in other populations of free-ranging bottlenose dolphins. The evidence for interspecies territoriality as a form of competition for prey was weak: there is little dietary overlap and there are differences in bottlenose dolphin and harbor porpoise distribution patterns in California. Object-oriented play was plausible as a form of practice to maintain intraspecific infanticidal skills or a form of play to maintain fighting skills between male associates. Contributing factors could be high-testosterone levels, as attacks occurred at the height of the breeding season, and/or a skewed operational sex ratio. Ultimately, we need more information about bottlenose dolphin social structure at the time of the aggression.