Recently a British diver and biologist, Justin Hart, caught some wonderful photos of a baby sperm whale soaring 30ft across the waves as he was working on a whale documentary.
The euphoric newborn slammed its body onto the water with joy after becoming separated from its family group in the chilly waters in the sea four miles off the island of Pico in the middle of the Atlantic.
The newborn sperm whale calf jumped excitedly out of the water and hurled its 12 ft. long body onto the sea to tell its mother it had found her again. As when a small child knows the panic of losing sight of its mother in the supermarket, so apparently do baby whales.
Hart, who took the pictures, explained that young whales communicate with older ones in the ocean by creating a slamming sound which travels through the water to the ears of the adults deep below. In doing that, the baby whale is telling its relatives where it is so they can regroup.
Hart went on to say that, "Sperm whales, of all the whales and dolphins, are the species that dive the deepest and for the longest time. The calves have to follow what's going on below them from the surface as best they can - probably listening to the echo location clicks of the adults. The newborn whale had become separated from its family group when they swam deeper to hunt squid."
In this case, the newborn whale had become separated from its family group when they swam deeper to hunt squid. By signaling his family with body slamming on the waves, the whale family could regroup and the calf could suckle if it needed to.
Hart added that the sperm whales dive deep to hunt squid in what is called the mesopelagic zone, around 600 metres under. "This is a problem for the calves as they do not have the capacity to follow their mothers there when they leave the surface to forage. The calves do not have to follow their mother too closely as sperm whales have a system of surrogacy whereby the calf can take milk from any milk-producing female in its social group."
Sperm whales live in nearly all the world's oceans in pods of about 15 to 20 animals and they practise communal childcare. When the baby is fully grown adult it will weigh up to 45 tons and be nearly 60ft long.
The euphoric newborn slammed its body onto the water with joy after becoming separated from its family group in the chilly waters in the sea four miles off the island of Pico in the middle of the Atlantic.
The newborn sperm whale calf jumped excitedly out of the water and hurled its 12 ft. long body onto the sea to tell its mother it had found her again. As when a small child knows the panic of losing sight of its mother in the supermarket, so apparently do baby whales.
Hart, who took the pictures, explained that young whales communicate with older ones in the ocean by creating a slamming sound which travels through the water to the ears of the adults deep below. In doing that, the baby whale is telling its relatives where it is so they can regroup.
Hart went on to say that, "Sperm whales, of all the whales and dolphins, are the species that dive the deepest and for the longest time. The calves have to follow what's going on below them from the surface as best they can - probably listening to the echo location clicks of the adults. The newborn whale had become separated from its family group when they swam deeper to hunt squid."
In this case, the newborn whale had become separated from its family group when they swam deeper to hunt squid. By signaling his family with body slamming on the waves, the whale family could regroup and the calf could suckle if it needed to.
Hart added that the sperm whales dive deep to hunt squid in what is called the mesopelagic zone, around 600 metres under. "This is a problem for the calves as they do not have the capacity to follow their mothers there when they leave the surface to forage. The calves do not have to follow their mother too closely as sperm whales have a system of surrogacy whereby the calf can take milk from any milk-producing female in its social group."
Sperm whales live in nearly all the world's oceans in pods of about 15 to 20 animals and they practise communal childcare. When the baby is fully grown adult it will weigh up to 45 tons and be nearly 60ft long.
It never fails to amaze me how much we can learn from other species! This is a wonderful account! Thank you.
They know much more than humans by their instinct.
Beautiful!
Wow, amazing to see.