"NEW YORK — Rare footage of a sperm whale giving birth has offered scientists a window into the behavior of these large, elusive mammals.
The video taken in 2023 shows female whales from two family lines working together to support the labor during critical moments and lift the newborn calf above the water. It’s a level of coordination that’s extremely uncommon in the animal kingdom, especially outside of primates like monkeys and humans.
“The group quite literally helps bring the calf into the world,” said Oregon State University behavioral ecologist Mauricio Cantor in an email. He had no role in the new research.
Scientists want to know how whales cooperate and socialize in the wild, but it’s tough to study this in animals that spend most of their time underwater. There are just a handful of sperm whale birth records from the past 60 years, and all are anecdotal accounts or from whaling boats."
Adithi Ramakrishnan reports for the Associated Press March 26, 2026.
