home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: sci.space
- Path: sparky!uunet!wupost!udel!rochester!cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu!amon@elegabalus.cs.qub.ac.uk
- From: amon@elegabalus.cs.qub.ac.uk
- Subject: Re: Whales and dolphins
- Message-ID: <1992Jul22.183539.149191@cs.cmu.edu>
- Date: Wed, 22 Jul 92 18:33:49 GMT
- Organization: [via International Space University]
- X-Added: Forwarded by Space Digest
- Original-Sender: isu@VACATION.VENARI.CS.CMU.EDU
- Distribution: sci
- Sender: news+@cs.cmu.edu
- Approved: bboard-news_gateway
- Lines: 19
-
- The social structure of dolphins is among the most complex on Earth,
- right up there with Homo Sapiens and Pan.
-
- Dolphins form small cooperative groups that will sometimes form
- coalitions with other cooperative groups. What is interesting is that
- they may be the only other species that understands the double-cross
- in the Machiavellian sense.
-
- They will work with a group until it becomes in their interest to
- work with yet another group against the first group.
-
- This is often used by groups of males to kidnap (forcefully) and rape
- female porpoises, and by female groups to attempt to prevent same.
-
- So much for the peaceful, lovable porpoises... But they definitely
- are far, far up the scale of social evolution.
-
-
-
-