Dolphins learn the ‘names’ of their friends to form teams—a first in animal kingdom

Recommendable! Amazing stuff! Humans are not so unique after all! 😄

"... A new study reveals they do this by learning the “names,” or signature whistles, of their closest allies—sometimes more than a dozen animals—and remembering who consistently cooperated with them in the past. The findings indicate dolphins have a concept of team membership—previously seen only in humans—and may help reveal how they maintain such intricate and tight-knit societies. ... The work adds evidence to the idea that dolphins evolved large brains to navigate their complex social environments. ...
Male dolphins typically cooperate as a pair or trio, in what researchers call a “first-order alliance.” These small groups work together to find and corral a fertile female. Males also cooperate in second-order alliances comprised of as many as 14 dolphins; these defend against rival groups attempting to steal the female. Some second-order alliances join together in even larger third-order alliances, providing males in these groups with even better chances of having allies nearby should rivals attack. ...
For example, dolphin females whistle, too. What are they talking about?"

"... We use 30 years of behavioural data combined with 40 contemporary sound playback experiments to 14 allied males, recording responses with drone-mounted video and a hydrophone array. ..."

Dolphins learn the ‘names’ of their friends to form teams—a first in animal kingdom | Science | AAAS

Here is the link to the underlying research article:

Cooperation-based concept formation in male bottlenose dolphins (open access)

Dolphin allies form teams to help their pals fight rivals who might try to take away a fertile female. Here, two males assist their pals in guarding a lone female.