:18:00
maintaining relations
in such a large
:18:02
group is a
delicate proposition
:18:05
but the pay-off is clear
:18:07
like a fierce tribe
:18:08
the "wow crowd" dominates
other alliances
:18:11
and can aggressively pursue
its goal of capturing females
:18:20
it's easy to lose sight of the
females' role in all this
:18:23
in fact, she is
the motivating force behind
:18:26
much of this
machiavellian male behavior
:18:34
the females of
most dolphin species
:18:37
have a mating strategy
of their own
:18:39
and it calls for multiple
sexual partners
:18:43
so in spite of the
males' best efforts to
:18:46
restrict the females' choice
:18:48
it's not entirely successful
:18:51
this spotted dolphin
female in the bahamas
:18:53
mates with a number of
eager males
:18:57
any one of these partners may end
up being the father of her calf
:19:09
in a surprising way
:19:11
this strategy may protect
her future offspring
:19:16
a female dolphin will usually
give birth to a single calf
:19:20
after a year
long pregnancy
:19:22
it'll be a few years before this one
becomes spotted like its mother
:19:28
after giving birth
the female is unreceptive
:19:31
during the calf's first
few years
:19:34
she will spurn the advances
of courting males
:19:39
but young males can be
dangerously persistent
:19:54
adult male dolphins may do
more than simply harass females
:19:58
they are strongly suspected of
killing dolphin calves