Social Behaviors of the California Sea Lion, Bottlenose Dolphin, and Orca Whale

Contents 2.1 California Sea Lion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

2.1.1 Introduction to California Sea Lion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 2.1.2 Classification of the California Sea Lion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 2.1.3 Social Behaviors of Sea Lions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

2.1.3.1 Breeding and Perinatal Periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 2.1.3.2 Interactions between California Sea Lions

and Humans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 2.1.3.3 Relationship between California Sea Lions

and Dolphins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 2.1.3.4 Methods of Study of Sea Lions and Dolphins . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 2.1.3.5 Results of Study of Sea Lions and Dolphins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 2.1.3.6 Discussions from Study of Sea Lions

and Dolphins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

2.2 Bottlenose Dolphin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 2.2.1 Introduction to Bottlenose Dolphin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 2.2.2 Classification of Bottlenose Dolphin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 2.2.3 Social Behaviors of the Bottlenose Dolphin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

2.2.3.1 Bottlenose Dolphins and Behavior Imitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 2.2.3.2 Further Study of Interactions between Bottlenose

Dolphins and Humans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 2.2.3.3 Life and Social Analysis of Coastal North Carolina

Bottlenose Dolphins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 2.2.3.4 North Carolina Bottlenose Dolphin Societal

Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 2.2.3.5 Bottlenose Dolphins and Birth Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 2.2.3.6 Inter-Birth Intervals for Bottlenose Dolphins . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 2.2.3.7 Female Bottlenose Dolphin Social Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

2.3 Killer Whale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 2.3.1 Introduction to the Killer Whale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 2.3.2 Social Behaviors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

2.3.2.1 Basic Social Tendencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 2.3.2.2 Coordinated Attacks on Seals and Penguins

in the Antarctic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 2.3.2.3 North Pacific Killer Wale Aggregations and Fish

Hunting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 2.3.2.4 Killer Whale Interactions with Other Marine

Mammals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 2.3.2.5 Evidence of Cooperative Attacks by Killer

Whales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 2.3.2.6 Killer Whale Vocalization and Foraging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 2.3.2.7 Effect of Social Affiliation on Vocal Signatures

of Resident Killer Whales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 2.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

This chapter provides a survey to explore in depth the California sea lion, bottlenose dolphin, and orca whale. It covers the appearance, classification, habitat, diet, physiology, and intelligence of the three species. In order to illustrate the species’ intelligence, this survey discusses social behaviors of the three species. These species have similar social abilities and functions illustrated, for example, by the common use of each in marine entertainment shows. Interaction with other species is also discussed. Important social functions of each species are breeding, birthing, pupping, and calving habits, and a large portion of this survey is dedicated to these topics.