Blindfolded Imitation in a Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

This study investigated the ability of a bottlenose dolphin to adapt a previously learned "do-as-I-do"procedure to copy behaviors of another dolphin while blindfolded (i.e., wearing eyecups). In Experiment 1, the dolphin was able to copy both vocal and motor behaviors, whether blindfolded or sighted. Hydrophone recordings showed that he echolocated during many of the motor behaviors while blindfolded. In Experiment 2, blindfolded human trainers were able to identify the same model behaviors on the basis of their characteristic sounds. While it thus remains unclear whether the dolphin recognized the motor behaviors via echolocation or via their characteristic sounds, this is the first demonstration of such flexibility in using a new perceptual route to motor imitation in a nonhuman animal