In 1982, when Richard Connor hitchhiked 500 miles up the coast of Western Australia to a remote camp in Shark Bay called Monkey Mia, he had no idea that he was embarking on a life-long adventure. Richard wanted to find out why dolphins have those big brains. As luck would have it, Shark Bay turned out to be the 'Rosetta Stone' for learning about dolphin intelligence in the wild.
In Shark Bay, Dr. Connor and his team discovered the most complex society known outside of humans. Central to this claim is a remarkable system of nested male alliances and the strategies, or 'politics', that allow some males to be successful in those alliances, while others fail.
In the pages of Dolphin Politics in Shark Bay: A Journey of Discovery, Dr. Connor brings you onboard for the drama, the discoveries and the insights that have revealed the astonishing, often sexual and sometimes violent, social lives of dolphins.
In the world of male dolphin politics you will meet a range of personalities, from the misnamed Lucky, to the master politican Real Notch, whose 30 year career may never be equaled. The dolphins' stories and lives unfold like a novel as they negotiate a labyrinth of friends, rivals, rival friends and friendly rivals.
Book description and availability
Dolphin Politics in Shark Bay: A Journey of Discovery, describes over 30 years of ground-breaking research on the most complex non-human society in the world. Beginning with his first visit to Shark Bay in 1982, Dr. Richard Connor describes the incredible social lives of the Shark Bay dolphins in 81 short "story sections", with over 50 accompanying movies that "bring the reader onboard" to experience the excitement of discovery (See T.O.C. & Video Links).
The paperback version of Dolphin Politics in Shark Bay: A Journey of Discovery is available on Amazon and can be ordered through bookstores. The two hardback versions, one with a case-laminate (textbook) cover and a cloth book with dust jacket and premium color photos, can only be ordered through bookstores. All versions have the same black and white photographs in the text, but the hard back versions have an additional central spread with 28 color photographs. The black and white photographs are presented here in color (see slide show and gallery). All proceeds from sales of Dolphin Politics in Shark Bay: A Journey of Discovery go to support our dolphin research!
Please ask your local independent bookstore to carry Dolphin Politics in Shark Bay: A Journey of Discovery
NOTE: if buying the book on Amazon, please order from Amazon. Evidently book wholesalers are buying bulk on IngramSparks and undercutting us on Amazon. All proceeds go to support our research. Thank you!