Boys Will Be Boys - Dolphin Bonds

Okay guys, you’re in college and it’s Friday night. You want to go out and meet girls, but don’t want to go alone, so what do you do? You call your best buddy!

You have someone to socialize with, have a bite to eat and go meet girls. All is good!

It’s not too different for some of our male dolphins, except that their “best buddy” bonds can last a lifetime! On the north end of Marco Island there are three pairs of these buddies, known as “Male Pair Bonds” and these relationships can last a lifetime.

When young male dolphins mature, at about ten to twelve years of age in our area, they have already been spending time together in the local waters. They will hunt and socialize together but when they become physically and sexually mature, girls become a major interest.

Quite often, two males will follow a female in hopes of a mating opportunity. If she shows interest in another male, the two boys can steer her away from him. Also, if a single male is following a female, the pair can “persuade” that lone male to leave by becoming physically aggressive with him. Two on one in a battle usually wins. Also, females seem to like the dominance of the bonded male pair.

In our area there are three Male Pair Bonds, with a fourth pair seeming to emerge. Bangle and Finch have been together for more than seventeen years. They hunt and feed together and they are constantly following the females for a chance to mate with them. Since there is no monogamy and a female will have multiple male partners throughout a year, it is impossible to tell which male fathered which calf, unless we could collect DNA samples from our dolphins. However, Bangle and Finch are always on the lookout for opportunities.

Another Male Pair Bond is Hatchet and Capri. These are two of the biggest boys in the area and I don’t think any single male would want to mess with them! Since the females like the dominance of the pair bonds it is likely that these boys have sired many of our young dolphins. One of our most productive females is Halfway, mother of seven offspring since 2004. When she is in a mating mood, Hatchet and Capri are the males that are commonly sighted with her and one or the other of these two boys is likely the father of many of her offspring.

The third pair is Captain Jack and Trixie (yes, Trixie is a boy) but there is trouble in paradise with these two. In recent months the dolphin study team on board the Dolphin Explorer has sighted these two but quite often separately in recent months. While Trixie is still very social with the area dolphin population, Captain Jack has been more solitary and reclusive, staying to himself. Jack has been seen most recently, and often, in the Addison Bay waters. He appears to be slowing down a bit. There was another older male named C.U. Jimmie and the last sightings ever of Jimmie were in this same region. Jimmie has not been seen for fifteen months and may have passed away. Is this where older dolphins go when age becomes a factor? We will have to wait and see.

The up-and-coming duo, sighted together quite often over the last six months or so, would be Simon and Ellie May (yes, Ellie May is a boy). It could be that they have figured out the dominance of the male pair bonding and are creating that long term relationship. Most recently, they have been documented following several adult females whose calves will stop nursing from mother’s milk soon, meaning these ladies will be open to mating again. These two boys could be setting the tone for these females to consider them as primary mating partners. Again, time will tell.

The single males are not completely left out of the mating game, but the difficulty of having a male pair bond close by does limit their opportunities. It’s almost like a scene out of “West Side Story”!

Stay tuned for updates regarding Captain Jack and what becomes of him. There is potential that Jack’s bonded partner, Trixie, could form a bond with another male to continue his role as a leading contender with the females. We will watch Simon and Ellie May closely as well to see if their relationship solidifies into a Male Pair Bond.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more dolphin updates here in Coastal Breeze News!