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Dolphins’ playful social habits form bonds, but spread virus

Dawn is seen from the bow of the boat Ahoya in Chesapeake Bay near Smith Point Marina in Reedville, Va., on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Christina Larson)

In this July 2016 photo provided by the Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project, a dolphin leaps into the air in the Potomac River between Lewisetta and Smith Point, Va. This photo was made under NOAA NMFS permit numbers 19403 and 23782. (Ann-Marie Jacoby/Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project via AP)

In this 2016 photo provided by the Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project, Janet Mann and Ann-Marie Jacoby observe dolphins in the Potomac River between Lewisetta and Smith Point, Va. To track a virus outbreak among East Coast dolphins, scientists are tracing the social networks of these playful animals in the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. This photo was made under NOAA NMFS permit numbers 19403 and 23782. (Madison Miketa/Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project via AP)

In this August 2019 photo provided by the Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project, a dolphin swims in the Potomac River between Lewisetta and Smith Point, Va. This photo was made under NOAA NMFS permit numbers 19403 and 23782. (Ann-Marie Jacoby/Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project via AP)

Researchers Anne-Marie Jacoby and Melissa Collier ride in the boat Ahoya in Chesapeake Bay near Smith Point Marina in Reedville, Va., on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. To track a virus outbreak among East Coast dolphins, scientists are tracing the social networks of these playful animals in the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. (AP Photo/Christina Larson)

In this May 2019 photo provided by the Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project, dolphins swim together in the Potomac River between Lewisetta and Smith Point, Va. While friendly close contact is essential to dolphin social bonds, sharing space and air can also quickly spread disease. This photo was made under NOAA NMFS permit numbers 19403 and 23782. (Ann-Marie Jacoby/Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project via AP)

Researchers Melissa Collier, Anne-Marie Jacoby, and Janet Mann travel in their boat Ahoya in Chesapeake Bay near Smith Point Marina in Reedville, Va., on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. Mann and other scientists are trying to understand how a highly contagious and lethal disease called cetacean morbillivirus — related to measles in humans and first detected in Virginia and Maryland waters — spread rapidly among dolphins along the Atlantic Coast from 2013 to 2015. (AP Photo/Christina Larson)

In this May 2019 photo provided by the Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project, dolphins swim together in the Potomac River between Lewisetta and Smith Point, Va. Dolphins are extremely playful animals and often swim close together, sometimes even touching fins. "We call it holding hands," says Janet Mann, who directs the nonprofit Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project. This photo was made under NOAA NMFS permit numbers 19403 and 23782. (Ann-Marie Jacoby/Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project via AP)

Dolphins’ playful social habits form bonds, but spread virus