:17:01
will join forces
to kidnap females
:17:04
or to defend against attacks
:17:14
some of these groups
have joined together
:17:16
to form a nearly
invincible super-alliance
:17:21
it consists of
fourteen males
:17:23
and their captive females
:17:25
unique in the animal kingdom
:17:27
connor calls them the
"wow crowd"
:17:32
we suspect from
what we can see
:17:34
the "wow crowd" seems
to dominate
:17:37
interactions in this area
:17:39
probably by being
in such a large group
:17:42
they are able to
defeat other alliances
:17:44
but we suspect that the way
they're always changing partners
:17:47
is required to maintain
friendly bonds within the group
:17:50
they have to
take turns cooperating
:17:53
with each other
to sort of keep things
:17:55
on a friendly basis
between all the alliances
: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