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According to experts, dolphins might be able to detect a pregnant woman’s developing fetus, using echolocation.

LiveScience reports that dolphins emit sounds in their environment (the buzzing, whistling and clicking sounds) and listen to the echoes that return, which helps them identify the shapes and locations of objects. This same technique is used by doctors to image a developing human baby using ultrasound.

“I think it’s extremely plausible [dolphins] would be able to detect a fetus,” Lori Marino, a neuroscientist at Emory University in Atlanta who studies cetacean intelligence told LiveScience. However, “you’d have to really do a well-controlled study to make a definitive statement,” she cautioned.

LiveScience says there are also reports suggesting dolphins take a special interest in pregnant women. Read the story here.

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Image Source: ajmexico/Flickr