Dolphins can sometimes get skin irritation, like humans, but the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins aducus Tursiops , which live in the northern Red Sea region, instead of applying cream to treat the affected area, tend to search for the nearest reef area Coral, dolphins line up in front of corals and sponges to rub their skin, just like a group of customers waiting their turn at a popular spa.

Some of these creatures not only help

dolphins rub their irritated skin, but go beyond that; In a recent study published in the journal iScience , an international team of researchers discovered that the mucus secreted by some corals and related sponges is saturated with antibacterial compounds and other substances likely to have significant benefits. The team hypothesizes that native dolphins congregate near Of these useful invertebrates to obtain effective treatment for infections that affect their skin, although scientists have monitored the behavior of rubbing the skin referred to above in other animals belonging to the class of cetaceans such as the killer whale Orca and the beluga  whale , the sight of dolphins rubbing their skin in coral reefs has been rarely observed, which is why dolphins that frequent reefs off the Egyptian coast have received great interest from researchers and tourists alike. It was the subject of a documentary episode of the series "Blue Planet - Part Two", which is broadcast on the "BBC" channel.

The unusual behavior is actually more complex than it might seem, says study co-author Angela Zeltner, a marine biologist at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, who has been monitoring the behavior of nearly 360 bottlenose dolphins in the Red Sea since 2009. Zeltner: “When I was diving in the Red Sea, I noticed dolphins doing this really unique behavior in front of [certain] reefs, and I always wondered: What’s going on here?” Apparently the dolphins were carefully choosing those corals and sponges, as They appeared to be rubbing specific areas of the skin on specific parts of these corals and sponges, for example dolphins were rubbing the most sensitive body parts in the dense bushes of gorgonian corals Rumphella aggregataWhile dolphins rub hard areas of their bodies such as the head and tail cotyledon with the wrinkled surface of a leathery coral species of the genus Sarcophyton and tough sea sponges of the genus Sarcophyton. Ircinia.

After spending more than a decade observing dolphins beneath the waves, Zeltner has concluded that there must be something special about these corals and sponges. As if there is a relationship between these corals and sponges in particular and dolphins."