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As a woman speaks out for the first time about her sexual relationship with a dolphin - we take a look at the bizarre facts you never knew about the sex lives of the cuddly creatures.

Margaret Howe Lovatt has lifted the lid on her life with Peter, an adolescent dolphin, as part of a Nasa-funded experiment int he 1960s.

As the revelations are met with shock and surprise, we reveal more little-known facts about the mammals, including their sexual history with humans, and their love of struggling eels...

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5. They have VERY creative ways of seeking pleasure

David Linden, professor of neuroscience at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, observed the male bottlenose dolphin had found "perhaps the most creative form of animal masturbation" - wrapping a live wriggling eel around its penis.

He detailed the bizarre technique in his 2011 book 'Pleasure' which studied the way creatures' brains react to different types of stimulation.

4. Gay sex is used to find 'wingmen'

Janet Mann, a professor of biology and psychology at Georgetown University, found that male bottlenose dolphins tend to engage in same-sex relations early in life and use the bonds they form to hunt for females as they get older.

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3. Dolphins have a gang culture around finding and keeping sexual partners

As they become bisexual in later life, the dolphins work in packs to restrict the movement of female dolphins as they wait for her to become sexually receptive.

This involves protecting the females from being taken by other gangs and can often resulted in violent altercations - sometimes sexual - between rival groups.

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2. Love-making can be 'short-lived'

A study by a Brazilian university found that dolphin intercourse usually lasts for "no more than 10 seconds" but can often be repeated several times within less than an hour.

1. Humans and dolphins do have some romantic history

Sexual acts between dolphins and humans isn't anything new.

American author Malcolm Brenner wrote a book 'Wet Goddess' based on his nine-month sexual relationship living at the Floridaland amusement park in 1970.

Research by Dr Mark Griffiths, of Nottingham Trent University, found that a small number of 'delphinophiles' - humans sexually attracted to dolphins - do exist.

In fact, seven per cent of zoophiles (humans sexually attracted to animals) named dolphins as their preferred choice of mate.

Some studies have also found evidence male dolphins are sexually attracted to women as they give off similar pheromones to female dolphins.