News Animals

Here are 3 people-animal collaborations besides dolphins and Brazilians

Humans and animals have cooperated throughout history. But it’s rare and at risk of disappearing

A fisher stands in waist-deep water with a fishing line as he looks at a dolphin breaking through the surface

Fishers (one shown) in the southern Brazilian city of Laguna work together with dolphins to catch elusive mullet.

M. Cantor et al/PNAS 2023

By Darren Incorvaia

We’ve all heard that dogs are a man’s best friend, but our canine companions don’t make up the entirety of humankind’s friend circle. Humans have cooperated with wild animals throughout our evolutionary history, forming reciprocally beneficial relationships known to biologists as mutualisms.