It is an amazing team effort when a mother sperm whale gives birth. Marine biologists documented the way that multiple adult female sperm whales surrounded the mother during the birth of the whale, and then lifted the calf from the water when the newborn took its very first breath.

The researchers observed sperm whales in the eastern Caribbean, off the coast of Dominica, and provided the most detailed account yet of the birthing process in cetaceans - which includes whales, porpoises, and dolphins. Sperm whales, the largest toothed whales in the world, have the biggest brains of all animals - about 8 kg (18 pounds).

Researchers witnessed a highly coordinated episode in which eleven sperm whales, 10 females including mother and one adolescent boy in a peripheral role, were present at the birth and assisted in the calf’s safety.

Scientists with Project CETI, a research organization, documented the event using drone video, underwater audio, and shipboard photographs on July 8, 2023. The birthing process took approximately 34 minutes from the flukes appearing on the mother's body to the delivery of the calf.

Multiple females, some as large as 33 feet (10 meters), surrounded the mother whale. Then, sets of whales?took it in turns to physically support and lift the newborn up to the surface of the ocean.

Two studies published in Science and Scientific Reports on Thursday revealed the findings.

"We observed an extremely cooperative period of caregiving?right after the birth. The whales formed an extremely tight cluster around the baby, touched it repeatedly, supported it using their bodies, and then took turns pushing and lifting it to the surface. The behavior of lifting continued for several more hours," Alaa Mahalouf, a member of Project CETI's robotics team and lead author on one of the studies said.

It is important that the calf, as a marine mammal which breathes air, comes to the surface to breathe soon after birth. The calf had to be 'lifted up to the surface in less than a minute after birth.

David Gruber is the president of Project CETI and a marine biologist. He said that birth was a risky time for sperms whales, because they are immobile at first and helpless.

Researchers said that coordinated lifting behavior was previously documented in three other toothed species - false killer whales, killer whales, and belugas. It may date back more than 30 millions years to the time when their last common ancestor lived.

The whales' vocalizations changed at key moments, such as the beginning of labor or when they interacted with the short-finned Pilot Whales who arrived. After the birth, the sperms whales began to disperse into smaller foraging groups.

The two sperm groups that were involved in the birth of the sperm whales came from normally separate families.

"What is particularly striking about this support is that it crossed kinship lines. Groups which are usually more separated during normal foraging, appeared to be able to unite during birth. This suggests that the sperm whale's society is built on "more than just close family ties." Maalouf added that the structure and scale of this cooperative behavior indicate a high level of social and cognitive sophistication.

Sperm whales, like other marine mammals are social creatures. The largest males can reach 60 feet (18 meters). These whales are deep divers and feed on giant squid. The last scientific report of a sperm birth was in 1986. It consisted only of written observations.

Sperm whales have complex social systems that include stable matrilineal families of 10-12 individuals who work together to forage and provide care.

Male sperm whales depart their natal unit in their early teens. "The grandmother, mothers, and daughters will live together for the rest of their lives as a family," said Project CETI lead biologist,?Shane Gero. The females are grouped together to defend and raise the calves. Mature males, on the other hand, roam between oceans looking for mates.

Gero described it as "a fascinating shock" that an adolescent boy attended the birth.

"Sperm Whales share striking similarities with humans." Gruber stated that Sperm Whales are the most intelligent species, with higher-level functions like conscious thought, future planning and speech, as well feelings of love, compassion, suffering and intuition.

(source: Reuters)