Sperm Whales Communication Insights [Video]

In 2023, scientists captured footage of a sperm whale giving birth and two different families of female whales working together to support the labor in critical moments and then lift the newborn above the water. This level of coordination is not common in the animal kingdom.

Oregon State University behavioral ecologist Mauricio Cantor says, “The group quite literally helps bring the calf into the world.”

In 1839, British surgeon, Thomas Beale noted that female sperm whales “are very remarkable for attachment to their young, which they may be frequently seen urging and assisting to escape danger with the most unceasing care and fondness. Over the past several decades, field research on sperm whales has supported this observation and suggest that the collective care for calves is a driving force behind the evolution of group living in this species. However, observations of how sperm whales enter the world, in their natural environment, have been extremely scarce.

“For example, in the last 60 years, there is only one previous scientific observation of a sperm whale birth and four other published accounts with observations just following sperm whale births were recorded during whaling activities. This makes this study the most comprehensive observations of a sperm whale birth published; and the most detailed observation across any natural wild cetacean birth.”

Sperm Whales Cooperate

In the past 60 years, researchers have only been able to capture a handful of sperm whale births, and all of them are anecdotal accounts or from whaling boats.

Several years ago, researchers were studying whale communication on a boat in the Caribbean when they noted something odd. Eleven whales, mostly female, surfaced facing each other, then they started thrashing and diving above and below the water.

The delivery took approximately 30 minutes. After the birth, pairs of sperm whales held the newborn above water for hours until it was able to swim.

“This was just really a special event,” according to co-author David Gruber with the Cetacean Translation Initiative, or Project CETI.

Researchers created software to analyze the whale communication. They chronicled the sights and sounds in two studies that were published on Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Scientific Reports and Science.

What had scientists in awe was how many female sperm whales united to support the new calf, even ones who were not related. These whales live in close-knit, female-led societies, and the observations who how the dynamics persist in the most significant and vulnerable moments.

“It’s amazing to think about how, when faced with this impossible challenge, these animals come together to succeed, ” says study co-author Shane Gero with Project CETI.

Researchers also noticed the whales made different sounds in key moments of the birth, including slower, longer sets of clicks. These sounds could have aided them in syncing together for the birthing effort.

There are a trove of questions from the observation. How did the group of whales come together in the first place? How did they know to join?

Video footage is difficult to secure underwater, so it is not clear when scientists will be able to find these answers. The new findings lend a partial clue into their hidden conversations, however.

“I think it’s just exciting to think about the social lives of these animals,” says biologists Susan Parks with Syracuse University.

Sources:

Nature: Description of a collaborative sperm whale birth and shifts in coda vocal styles during key events
AP News: Scientists captured female sperm whales on video working together during a birth to protect the calf
theglobeandmail.com: Out at sea, a Canadian whale scientist witnessed something close to a miracle

Featured Image Courtesy of Victoria Hoete-Dodd’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License