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National Geographic Dolphins The Wild Side
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Once we saw them as gods |
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How else to explain their |
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the way they inspire our joy. |
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Today, dolphins seem |
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They enchant us with their |
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But the dolphin's true home - the sea |
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is an alien world and here |
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Cunning, powerful and relentless, |
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They are social creatures that |
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for danger can strike from anywhere. |
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The quest for prey, the quest for mates, |
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For the ocean is as unforgiving |
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Join us as we explore the world |
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In the salt marshes of South |
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a nursery for fish and shellfish |
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and a lure for all kinds |
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Every day as |
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the broad mud banks |
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It is then an extraordinary |
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Seabirds vie for |
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They have an intense |
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The predators regroup |
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These are bottlenose dolphins |
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and intelligent |
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Here they locate schools of |
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Then in a stunning maneuver, |
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they rush up the mudflats |
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creating a bow wave |
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Using their excellent |
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they snatch up the fish |
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How dolphins locate |
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and coordinate their |
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They may use either audible |
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For some reason |
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the dolphins always rush up |
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Over time |
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actually be worn down from |
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Occasionally |
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completely out of the water |
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Being stranded up |
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As they shimmy up the mud |
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if they're evolving into |
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Some fifty million years ago |
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the ancestors |
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mammals ventured |
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To follow dolphins |
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one of the most remarkable |
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They use their intelligence |
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changing or inventing strategies |
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Spinner dolphins leap in what |
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In fact, |
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they may be signaling |
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or coordinating |
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A kind of long |
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At close range, |
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dolphins "speak" through |
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These signals can |
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"Food's over here" to "Watch out! |
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They also communicate |
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Dolphins are notoriously affectionate |
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When dolphins mate, |
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they swim in rhythm |
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Sex is as frequent |
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It's not always |
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Often it's a social tool |
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used to strengthen |
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Whether old or young |
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male or female - all dolphins |
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But beneath this veneer |
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lies a darker side... |
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Surprisingly the |
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as "Flipper" may be the |
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In the Bahamas |
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two male bottlenose harass |
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At first the interaction |
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but it quickly escalates |
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The bottlenose take |
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the spotted perhaps |
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Next they turn on a spotted |
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It's only a calf |
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Bottlenose are among the |
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that will kill for reasons |
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Swimming in formation |
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a group of adult spotteds |
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In the flurry of threats |
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the calf escapes |
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Bottlenose are even |
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with members |
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These males in the |
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including those |
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A first sign of impending |
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a clear audible threat |
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When fights break out |
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they're marked |
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biting |
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and blows from |
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Many dolphins have |
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sometimes brutal |
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aspects of society |
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Shark Bay |
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where vast sea |
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a large community |
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Here an international |
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investigates |
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The waters of Shark |
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of what appears |
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Groups of males are observed |
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It can go on for hours |
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The battles are over females |
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part of an extremely complex social |
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by Dr. Richard Connor from the |
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He's spent his professional life |
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And his work has changed |
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I think in the 1960's |
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that dolphins were |
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And almost incapable |
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At least that was |
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carried on a large |
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Dolphins are capable of |
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They can be quite nasty |
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They are complex |
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intelligent social mammals |
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with it a range of behaviors from |
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Just like in our own species |
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And like our own species |
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dolphins are |
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To study their relationships |
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Connor needs to clearly |
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He does this by their |
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He's studied them in |
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and he knows over |
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and Minnie right there |
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And here comes Bad Ghost |
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There's Wow resting at the surface. |
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Xxx and Horton? |
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Connor is |
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by relationships |
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To him, it's like cracking |
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They follow a |
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a jagged dorsal fin |
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He's usually observed swimming |
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They're almost inseparable forming |
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Some of these alliances last |
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Today a female is seen |
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as if she's being herded |
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In fact, she is |
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They guard her night and day |
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Very rarely do you see the female |
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They like to keep her |
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That basically eliminates |
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We've seen them keep females |
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Bottomhook and Pointer |
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Their strategy is to keep her |
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To limit the female's |
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We've often seen |
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aggression to keep |
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Even so, it's likely that the |
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with these males as well as |
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The males are trying |
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the female simply |
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that they will be |
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Eventually, the hungry males |
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Pointer races |
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It's a risky move |
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confusion the female |
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One male will be close to |
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The other will be off |
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And then they'll switch. |
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And the one that was |
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will come back and |
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Now here Pointer is rushing |
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As Pointer resumes |
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he warns the female |
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It means: "stay close" |
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For other male |
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the bay in search of |
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and they'll kidnap |
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But not without help |
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Connor found that |
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will join forces |
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or to defend against attacks |
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Some of these groups |
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to form a nearly |
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It consists of |
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and their captive females |
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Unique in the animal kingdom |
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Connor calls them the |
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We suspect from |
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the "wow crowd" seems |
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interactions in this area |
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Probably by being |
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they are able to |
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But we suspect that the way |
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is required to maintain |
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They have to |
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with each other |
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on a friendly basis |
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Maintaining relations |
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group is a |
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But the pay-off is clear |
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Like a fierce tribe |
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the "wow crowd" dominates |
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and can aggressively pursue |
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It's easy to lose sight of the |
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In fact, she is |
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much of this |
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The females of |
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have a mating strategy |
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And it calls for multiple |
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So in spite of the |
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restrict the females' choice |
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it's not entirely successful |
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This spotted dolphin |
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mates with a number of |
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Any one of these partners may end |
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In a surprising way |
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this strategy may protect |
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A female dolphin will usually |
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after a year |
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It'll be a few years before this one |
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After giving birth |
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during the calf's first |
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She will spurn the advances |
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But young males can be |
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Adult male dolphins may do |
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They are strongly suspected of |
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a possible strategy for making |
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This time |
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In Shark Bay, a female, Nicky |
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She's being herded by |
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Like most female dolphins |
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So the scientists are not sure |
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But then neither |
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And in their uncertainty, |
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Finding food is the |
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and here in Shark |
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some surprising resources |
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There's something |
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coming in contact |
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The activity is |
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avoid potential harm |
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Please, please don't reach |
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That's Nicky; |
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Trust me |
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She hasn't bitten |
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If you're lucky |
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Just step out |
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Hold the fish by the tail |
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Not the dolphin... |
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Place right down into |
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Please do not be tempted |
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that's when we can |
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This kind of |
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and wild dolphins |
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For some, it's a |
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For others a kind of mystical, |
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But to the hungry dolphins it's |
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If there's a lesson here |
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a dolphin must always |
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For out in the wild |
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Calves are dependent on their mothers |
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During this period |
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the young dolphin must learn |
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Like humans, dolphins are not |
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The learning process may start |
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The calf will imitate |
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posture and action |
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If she stands with her |
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the calf will follow suit |
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Even though it may not have |
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Dolphins are opportunistic feeders |
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and the young must learn |
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and creative |
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The mother is using |
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the calf may not be |
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The buzzing sound is a series |
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part of a sophisticated sensory |
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The sound signals |
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then echo back, giving a clear |
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It's like X-ray vision |
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capable of seeing through |
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Dolphin calves can create |
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mostly whistles |
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The clicks required for echolocation |
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Like most intelligent |
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dolphins learn to hunt |
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This trunkfish is |
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but for the young dolphins |
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it's a target to practice on |
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It takes an adult to |
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Calves often wander away |
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sometimes up to half a mile |
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Though it can be dangerous |
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taking risks is an |
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These young dolphins |
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but at least they're |
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The mortality rate for |
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In Shark Bay |
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fifty percent don't |
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Much depends on how |
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can master new skills |
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A mother leads her calf on |
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The calf can |
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This is basic training |
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and dangerous |
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It's a skill passed on from |
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The techniques that |
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are often unique |
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The steep cliffs of Cape Peron |
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creating calm |
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Shallows can be dangerous |
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Strandings are not |
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they can easily be |
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But the shallow water |
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ground for a small |
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Here they practice |
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other dolphins find |
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The shallows would seem to |
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But the dolphin has mastered |
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skimming through |
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Sometimes breathing air |
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The sea eagle |
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who's watched the chase |
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times his |
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Of the four to five hundred |
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only a handful of females |
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Often dolphins play with |
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Just offshore a dolphin tosses |
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The others approach the tossed |
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But they will not touch it |
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Scientists have speculated |
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trust or simply avoiding |
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When calves catch their tiny fish |
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By five or six years old |
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young dolphins no longer |
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They will be part |
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forever be as |
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Dolphins have |
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that is hostile |
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In the dark of night |
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dolphins need to |
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Using their echolocation |
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dolphins can detect the size |
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shape- even the |
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But it's only |
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or so and is |
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detecting nothing |
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It's so accurate |
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distinguish between |
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Even in daylight |
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But using sonar can |
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tell-tale clicks may reveal |
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So dolphins rely more on |
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The best defense is to stay together |
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Success in hunting is knowing |
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and when to turn it off |
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With its own |
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a killer whale moves silently |
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It can hear the |
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the very breathing |
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A group of Dall's porpoises |
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These are among the fastest |
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so quick and agile they can |
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They travel these icy waters |
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But for this small herd there's |
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As quietly as possible |
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the killer whales |
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The slightest sound would |
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The porpoises |
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But it may be too late |
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The killers are capable of |
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The porpoise zigzags |
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Killer whales are masters at |
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This one dives below |
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Like sharks |
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finish off their prey |
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They'll often let |
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it's energy is spent |
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Other members of the pod |
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Dall's porpoise that's |
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It still has some life |
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tries to make it |
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The males- like lions tend to |
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Now they join |
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Soon the restless |
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with the eerie calls |
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and the chilling sounds of |
| 00:37:45 |
The porpoise had the |
| 00:37:47 |
by hunters with sensory |
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For killer whales |
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They are the largest |
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the only dolphins that |
| 00:38:03 |
Still, they're the most |
| 00:38:07 |
living in highly stable |
| 00:38:18 |
Most of the males never leave |
| 00:38:21 |
Some will even teach |
| 00:38:25 |
This unfortunate |
| 00:38:27 |
to become a living |
| 00:39:09 |
The killer whales circle the prey |
| 00:39:13 |
In fact |
| 00:39:14 |
they may be demonstrating |
| 00:39:17 |
cut off a prey's retreat |
| 00:39:22 |
More important the |
| 00:39:25 |
coordinate their efforts |
| 00:39:41 |
Older males have been observed |
| 00:39:45 |
before they themselves |
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The young will grow into |
| 00:40:01 |
Like killer whales, pilot whales |
| 00:40:08 |
The second largest |
| 00:40:11 |
they can weigh up |
| 00:40:14 |
Pilot whales dive to |
| 00:40:17 |
in search of octopus |
| 00:40:34 |
These pygmy killer |
| 00:40:37 |
bit as fierce as |
| 00:40:39 |
And like their bigger |
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believed to kill |
| 00:40:44 |
But pygmy killers are very rare |
| 00:40:55 |
There are over thirty |
| 00:40:58 |
and we know very little |
| 00:41:01 |
The northern right whale dolphin |
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creature often found |
| 00:41:07 |
like white-sided dolphins. |
| 00:41:11 |
Dolphins come in a |
| 00:41:15 |
What distinguishes |
| 00:41:18 |
features like the shape |
| 00:41:24 |
Dolphins are designed |
| 00:41:39 |
This fifty ton monster |
| 00:41:44 |
And it's a true whale |
| 00:41:51 |
Southern right whales |
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straining enormous quantities |
| 00:42:08 |
The windswept shores of |
| 00:42:12 |
Once a year |
| 00:42:13 |
right whales migrate |
| 00:42:15 |
shallow waters |
| 00:42:25 |
Here they are greeted |
| 00:42:28 |
Unlike their big |
| 00:42:31 |
duskys are small |
| 00:42:38 |
In the summer months |
| 00:42:40 |
they leave the safety of coastal |
| 00:43:00 |
In deep waters, locating |
| 00:43:02 |
pursuing and catching prey |
| 00:43:06 |
But duskys have developed |
| 00:43:10 |
In the morning, small |
| 00:43:13 |
probing with their sonar |
| 00:43:20 |
There may be twenty to thirty |
| 00:43:23 |
each pod separated |
| 00:43:28 |
The leaps give them a vantage |
| 00:43:38 |
Seabirds have gathered up ahead |
| 00:43:48 |
This time of year Southern |
| 00:43:53 |
For the penguins |
| 00:44:01 |
It's up to the dolphins |
| 00:44:03 |
order to all this and |
| 00:44:06 |
The dolphin's strategy is to |
| 00:44:09 |
and drive it into an |
| 00:44:12 |
They guard the outside |
| 00:44:15 |
which frightens the fish |
| 00:44:18 |
This takes advantage of |
| 00:44:21 |
to huddle together |
| 00:44:24 |
As the fish ball |
| 00:44:26 |
the duskys take turns |
| 00:44:29 |
of fish then retreat |
| 00:44:50 |
Soon the ball is |
| 00:44:53 |
the fishes' escape |
| 00:44:56 |
Now it's simply a |
| 00:44:58 |
dolphins' nipping food |
| 00:45:22 |
As the feeding progresses |
| 00:45:23 |
the dolphin calves |
| 00:45:26 |
For others drawn |
| 00:45:29 |
young dolphin to |
| 00:45:41 |
Mothers bring their calves |
| 00:45:44 |
away from the chaos |
| 00:45:59 |
For the rest of the group |
| 00:46:00 |
the feeding's over |
| 00:46:04 |
The event is marked by |
| 00:46:09 |
Dolphin groups that |
| 00:46:10 |
apart now come together |
| 00:46:19 |
In the world of dolphins |
| 00:46:22 |
frequent sex with a variety |
| 00:46:25 |
The males- swimming upside down |
| 00:46:29 |
They synchronize their |
| 00:46:32 |
all for a brief moment |
| 00:46:59 |
Physical contact among |
| 00:47:01 |
dolphins strengthens |
| 00:47:05 |
For cooperative hunters |
| 00:47:06 |
these bonds are essential |
| 00:47:09 |
The duskys are about |
| 00:47:11 |
that calls for teamwork |
| 00:47:28 |
Sixty feet below the |
| 00:47:32 |
of life undulates like a |
| 00:47:42 |
It's a mass of anchovies over |
| 00:47:48 |
For these duskys |
| 00:47:50 |
it's the mother lode |
| 00:48:00 |
Circling the fish |
| 00:48:03 |
the duskys corral |
| 00:48:23 |
A team of dolphins |
| 00:48:26 |
herding it towards |
| 00:48:29 |
They must keep the |
| 00:48:32 |
If it splits into |
| 00:48:34 |
they'll be hard to control |
| 00:48:52 |
Finally, they succeed |
| 00:48:54 |
great ball of fish to |
| 00:48:57 |
It serves as a wall, |
| 00:49:06 |
Now sea lions are drawn |
| 00:49:37 |
The dolphins struggle to |
| 00:49:40 |
but the sea lions are |
| 00:49:42 |
They plunge into the |
| 00:49:53 |
The school is simply too large |
| 00:49:59 |
Now the leaps serve |
| 00:50:02 |
High and acrobatic |
| 00:50:09 |
From miles away, |
| 00:50:21 |
They porpoise high in the air to |
| 00:50:38 |
By the time they |
| 00:50:40 |
there's a feeding |
| 00:50:42 |
Chaos reigns and the ball |
| 00:50:52 |
The new arrivals |
| 00:50:54 |
and quickly coordinate their |
| 00:50:59 |
Now there are enough dolphins |
| 00:51:02 |
the perimeter while |
| 00:51:21 |
Finally all the dolphins' |
| 00:51:26 |
The fish have been |
| 00:51:27 |
so long they've consumed |
| 00:51:32 |
There's little chance the |
| 00:51:54 |
For the dolphins who can now |
| 00:52:16 |
To ancient mariners |
| 00:52:18 |
the dolphins' mastery of |
| 00:52:33 |
They were cast as heroes |
| 00:52:44 |
Today we look for glimpses |
| 00:52:48 |
And we find them |
| 00:52:50 |
yes - but also in the ways |
| 00:52:55 |
their sheer inventiveness. |
| 00:53:02 |
But there's no need |
| 00:53:06 |
dolphins to respect |
| 00:53:09 |
Strong and intelligent hunters |
