: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
:20:02
a possible strategy for making
the female receptive again
:20:14
this time
the mother fights them off
:20:34
in shark bay, a female, nicky
cruises the shallows with her calf
:20:39
she's being herded by
bottomhook and pointer
:20:43
like most female dolphins
she's mated with a number of partners
:20:47
so the scientists are not sure
who the father of the calf is
:20:51
but then neither
are bottomhook and pointer
:20:55
and in their uncertainty,
the calf is spared