Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative) has released two landmark scientific papers detailing what researchers describe as the most comprehensive record of a sperm whale birth ever captured – and the first quantitative evidence of cooperative birth assistance among non-primates.
Published in Science and Scientific Reports, the studies draw on more than six hours of underwater acoustic recordings and aerial drone footage collected on 8 July 2023 in waters off Dominica.
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Taken together, the studies suggest that cooperative caregiving during birth may be an ancient evolutionary trait. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that behaviours such as the collective lifting of newborns could predate the most recent common ancestor of toothed whales by more than 36 million years.
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The research builds on decades of fieldwork led by Shane Gero, whose team has tracked the focal whale family since 2005. The mother – known as Rounder from Unit A – was observed giving birth alongside her own mother, Lady Oracle, and her daughter, Accra, capturing three generations participating in the event.
“This is the most detailed window we’ve ever had into one of the most important moments in a whale’s life,” said Shane Gero, Biology Lead for Project CETI, Scientist in Residence at Carleton University, and National Geographic Explorer.
“Because this family unit has been studied for decades, we could see what the grandmother was doing, how the new big sister acted, and how each helped mom and newborn, placing this rare birth within a deep social and behavioural context.”
From the article:
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