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Reproductive System

Organs:  Males, penis concealed in two slits on the underside.  Females, bicornate uterus, meaning it has two separate sections

Life Cycle:  Many dolphins have sexual intercourse for fun, not just for the sake of reproduction.  It starts off with the male and the female both trying to impress one another then once attracted they connect bellies and fertilize the egg.  The female is pregnant for about 11 months.  Then she separates from the pod and gives birth to only one offspring.  She then helps it to surface for first breaths.  Often they are very protective of young.  Young will breast feed for about 2-3 years, and won't separate from mother for about 4 years.  

Particularities:  

  1. Mothers will act strange if babies are sick or deformed

  2. Only reproduce every 3-6 years

  3. Some are pregnant for 17 months!!!

Male v Female:  Males grow larger, but slower. Females will mature in about 7 years where males take up to 11 years to fully mature.  Also, males are more reactive to not getting a female than vise versa.  In many ways, both genders act similar to human genders.

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