The dolphins are organized in bands that establish alliances or ruptures with other groups with the main objective of defending their females. These ‘mobster’ societies reveal a high cognitive level, according to the authors of a study, published in the Royal Society Journal Proceedings B , which analyzes the complex social structures of these intelligent mammals.
The researchers studied, for five years, the movements of various groups of bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops sp.) From Shark Bay, Australia, and came to the conclusion that these animals do not defend a specific territory, but are structured in societies open in which a whole series of intrigues and ‘pacts’ take place between its members. When a male dolphin meets another individual or a group of dolphins, he must decide whether to consider him his enemy and attack, or to establish friendship ties, something that reveals the high level of intelligence of cetaceans. “It is something unprecedented, nothing like it is found in other mammalian societies,” says Mr? An Randi ?, one of the authors of the study.
Dolphins establish different types of alliances. In the former, two or three males bond together and work closely together to protect the female with whom they mate. At a second level, the union is established between about 14 individuals and this alliance can last more than 15 years. In this way they can protect their females and attack other groups to snatch them away. And on a third level, various groups come together to form large clans and thus be able to defend themselves from larger groups.
Furthermore, group encounters do not always result in fights, but sometimes new alliances emerge and some dolphins can even switch sides if they are interested. In light of these discoveries, it would not be unusual for the next version of The Godfather to feature a dolphin.
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