The Wild Side Page #2

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the father of the offspring

Eventually, the hungry males

must break formation to feed

Pointer races

off to chase a fish

It's a risky move

because in the

confusion the female

may try to escape

One male will be close to

the female for a while

The other will be off

foraging catching fish

And then they'll switch.

And the one that was

off chasing fish

will come back and

stay close to the female

Now here Pointer is rushing

back towards her now

As Pointer resumes

guard duty

he warns the female

with a popping sound

It means:
"stay close"

For other male

alliances are prowling

the bay in search of

females to capture

and they'll kidnap

them from rivals

But not without help

Connor found that

different alliances

will join forces

to kidnap females

or to defend against attacks

Some of these groups

have joined together

to form a nearly

invincible super-alliance

It consists of

fourteen males

and their captive females

Unique in the animal kingdom

Connor calls them the

"wow crowd"

We suspect from

what we can see

the "wow crowd" seems

to dominate

interactions in this area

Probably by being

in such a large group

they are able to

defeat other alliances

But we suspect that the way

they're always changing partners

is required to maintain

friendly bonds within the group

They have to

take turns cooperating

with each other

to sort of keep things

on a friendly basis

between all the alliances

Maintaining relations

in such a large

group is a

delicate proposition

But the pay-off is clear

Like a fierce tribe

the "wow crowd" dominates

other alliances

and can aggressively pursue

its goal of capturing females

It's easy to lose sight of the

females' role in all this

In fact, she is

the motivating force behind

much of this

Machiavellian male behavior

The females of

most dolphin species

have a mating strategy

of their own

And it calls for multiple

sexual partners

So in spite of the

males' best efforts to

restrict the females' choice

it's not entirely successful

This spotted dolphin

female in the Bahamas

mates with a number of

eager males

Any one of these partners may end

up being the father of her calf

In a surprising way

this strategy may protect

her future offspring

A female dolphin will usually

give birth to a single calf

after a year

long pregnancy

It'll be a few years before this one

becomes spotted like its mother

After giving birth

the female is unreceptive

during the calf's first

few years

She will spurn the advances

of courting males

But young males can be

dangerously persistent

Adult male dolphins may do

more than simply harass females

They are strongly suspected of

killing dolphin calves

a possible strategy for making

the female receptive again

This time

the mother fights them off

In Shark Bay, a female, Nicky

cruises the shallows with her calf

She's being herded by

Bottomhook and Pointer

Like most female dolphins

she's mated with a number of partners

So the scientists are not sure

who the father of the calf is

But then neither

are Bottomhook and Pointer

And in their uncertainty,

the calf is spared

Finding food is the

mother's top priority

and here in Shark

Bay she's discovered

some surprising resources

There's something

enchanting about

coming in contact

with dolphins in the wild

The activity is

carefully monitored to

avoid potential harm

to dolphins or to humans

Please, please don't reach

out to her head, please

That's Nicky;

she will bite you

Trust me

She hasn't bitten

anybody since yesterday...

If you're lucky

enough to be called out

Just step out

Hold the fish by the tail

Not the dolphin...

Place right down into

the dolphins mouths

Please do not be tempted

to touch during the feeding

that's when we can

have accidents

This kind of

interaction between humans

and wild dolphins

occurs in very few places

For some, it's a

healing experience

For others a kind of mystical,

New Age encounter

But to the hungry dolphins it's

mostly about getting a fish

If there's a lesson here

for the calf it's that

a dolphin must always

be inventive in finding food

For out in the wild

it's no easy task

Calves are dependent on their mothers

for some three to six years

During this period

the young dolphin must learn

how to fend for itself

Like humans, dolphins are not

born with the skills to survive

The learning process may start

through simple mimicry

The calf will imitate

its mother's every pose

posture and action

If she stands with her

tail in the sand

the calf will follow suit

Even though it may not have

an inkling of why she's doing so

Dolphins are opportunistic feeders

and the young must learn

many extremely difficult

and creative

hunting techniques

The mother is using

sound in a way

the calf may not be

capable of just yet

The buzzing sound is a series

of rapid fire clicks

part of a sophisticated sensory

system called echolocation

The sound signals

penetrate the sands

then echo back, giving a clear

indication of what lies below

It's like X-ray vision

capable of seeing through

almost any porous medium

Dolphin calves can create

sounds shortly after birth

mostly whistles

used for communication

The clicks required for echolocation

may take months to develop

Like most intelligent

predators

dolphins learn to hunt

by making a game out of it

This trunkfish is

not part of their diet

but for the young dolphins

it's a target to practice on

It takes an adult to

demonstrate proper form

Calves often wander away

from their mothers

sometimes up to half a mile

Though it can be dangerous

taking risks is an

important part of learning

These young dolphins

may not very adept

but at least they're

catching fish on their own

The mortality rate for

young dolphins is very high

In Shark Bay

fifty percent don't

survive their first year

Much depends on how

quickly the calf

can master new skills

for survival

A mother leads her calf on

strenuous runs in the shallows

The calf can

barely keep up

This is basic training

for a difficult

and dangerous

fishing strategy

It's a skill passed on from

generation to generation

The techniques that

dolphin calves learn

are often unique

to where they live

The steep cliffs of Cape Peron

block the prevailing winds

creating calm

clear waters along the beach.

Shallows can be dangerous

places for dolphins

Strandings are not

uncommon and here

they can easily be

cornered by predators

But the shallow water

is a hunting

ground for a small

group of specialists

Here they practice

a fishing technique

other dolphins find

too risky

The shallows would seem to

favor the smaller creature

But the dolphin has mastered

the art of hydroplaning

skimming through

mere inches of water

Sometimes breathing air

has its advantages

The sea eagle

who's watched the chase

with intense interest

times his

swoop perfectly

Of the four to five hundred

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