Do dolphins abandon injured members of their pod?

Question

Do dolphins travel alone, do other members of their pod "kick them out" if they become injured. I recently encountered an injured dolphin all on his own who was very friendly and seemed like he survived by getting food from fishing boats.

Answer 1

Actually I don't think dolphins abandon injured members of their pod. Probably why fishermen can kill more of them. And dolphins usually travek in pods from around 20 to several hundreds.

I watched a T.V. show once and some very interesting things happened. For some reason around a very dolphin populated coast several dolphins were dying. But nothing matched a shark or a human or anything. They ended up finding that the dolphins of their own pod had killed them. Butted them dead. It was even caught on tape. Now they don't know why the dolphins do that or if all dolphins do it. Maybe it's for the other young dolphins to practice hunting? Maybe the dolphins were a burden. But it's odd because dolphins are usually so caring towards each other. But we don't really know the reason as to killing their own kind. It's still a mystery unsolved.

Maybe the dolphin you encountered was a lucky survivor of the similiar story I just shared. Maybe he got lost. Animals do get lost from their pods or heards. And sometimes they are not found again even if their family does look for them. So maybe he was lost and injured and couldn't find his way back.

But I don't think dolphins abandon the ijured ones of the pod. I think they help them instead.....