Ask a room full of people what their favourite animals are and the chances are one or two will answer “dolphin”. In fact, these creatures inspire such universal affection, with their extreme sociability and playfulness, that a columnist for New York’s defunct Village Voice magazine once wrote an exasperated column entitled “Everyone loves dolphins except me!” Perhaps it’s this adorability that has led to some people believing dolphins mate for life. This is a myth: while dolphins can form lifelong bonds of affection with another dolphin, these are usually between two males. Sexually, they are anything but monogamous.
