After 22 years of observations in Shark Bay, Australia, behavioral biologist Janet Mann and her colleagues have discovered that certain bottlenose dolphins, known as spongers, form social networks, showing the first hints of culture among non-human animals. Spongers are dolphins that wear marine basket sponges on their beaks as hunting tools, using them to root around on deep sandy bottoms and find fish concealed below the sand. Sponging is a complex hunting technique passed on from mother to offspring. A sponger must know where the sponges grow, how to pick the right sponge, how to remove the sponge intact from the ocean floor, and how and where to properly hunt. Spongers typically live solitary lives, but over 22 years of observation, a pattern emerged. The 28 female spongers formed cliques with other female spongers that were not necessarily genetically related to them. This behavior differs from other animal behavior where circumstances, such as genetics or food sources, dictate the formation of groups. The fact that these spongers chose to associate based upon similar, socially learned behaviors makes their cliques a cultural first among animals.