Researchers have discovered that dolphins apparently have an uncanny ability to sense whether a particular object is magnetized or not.

Apart from being intelligent and possessing other remarkable abilities, dolphins navigate the world's oceans using the magnetic field of the Earth as a guide, according to scientists.

Like Us on Facebook

To prove this point, these cetaceans were placed in a dolphinarium in France in an experiment that saw these intelligent animals gravitatd towards magnetized objects as opposed to objects that are not magnetized.

Dorothee Kremers of the University of Rennes, co-author of the study, said this magnetic sense is called magnetoreception. This ability is also inherently present in bats, turtles and insects and enables these creatures to navigate surrounding areas.

Evidence proves that dolphins and whales follow these magnetic signals emanating from the Earth that guides their way during migration.

Kremers adds that the magnetic field in the ocean is very advantageous for these animals and strongly hints at dolphins possessing a magnetic sense.

During the dolphinarium experiment, floating barrels were filled with magnetized blocks and non magnetized ones. To a dolphins' echolocation sense, these barrels appear the same but most of the bottlenose dolphins curiously investigated the barrels filled with magnetized blocks which revealed their magnetic ability.

Kremers concludes that their ability to distinguish magnetic objects is an indicator of magnetoreception. The team hasn't yet figured out the process as to how the dolphins' magnetic sense exactly works, however.

Some scientists believe animals with magnetoreception possess ferromagentic particles that send a signal to their bodies' nervous system, thereby enabling the animals to detect magnetic fields.

TagsDolphins' Secret Ability: They Have Magnetic Sense, dolphins magnetic sense, magnetoreception, Dolphins