The rare footage of a sperm whale giving birth provided scientists with an unusually detailed look at how these large, elusive mammals behave during one of their most difficult and vulnerable moments. The video—recorded in 2023 off the Caribbean island of Dominica—captured female whales from two family lines working together as the birth unfolded, researchers said. In their analysis, scientists described the coordination as extremely uncommon outside primates, emphasizing that the group appears to help bring the calf into the world.
The observation began when researchers studying whale communication on a boat noticed unusual behavior. Eleven whales—most of them female—surfaced with their heads facing one another and began thrashing and diving above and below the water, the researchers said, prompting them to deploy drones and microphones to record what followed. The full delivery took about 30 minutes, and afterward, for hours, pairs of whales held the baby above the water until it could swim, according to the studies.
In the work, scientists said the support came from multiple related females as well as whales that were not related, highlighting the structure of sperm whale social life. Sperm whales live in close-knit, female-led societies, and the researchers said the new observations show how those group dynamics persist during a birth. The paper also reported that the whales coordinated during critical moments rather than simply gathering near the end of the process.
“The group quite literally helps bring the calf into the world,” said Oregon State University behavioral ecologist Mauricio Cantor, who had no role in the new research. Cantor’s comments came in an email, according to the report.
Researchers said the findings were built from the video and accompanying audio and then analyzed using software to document exactly what was happening. They later chronicled the sights and sounds in two studies published Thursday in the journals Scientific Reports and Science, according to the report. The studies, described as a window into cooperation and social behavior, drew attention to how whale groups might coordinate to manage the birth process.
Study co-author David Gruber, who is with the Cetacean Translation Initiative, or Project CETI, described the event as “just really a special event.” Another co-author, Shane Gero, also with Project CETI, said it was “amazing to think about how, when faced with this impossible challenge, these animals come together to succeed.”
Beyond the physical support, scientists said the whales also made different sounds during key moments of the birth. They reported that some calls included slower, longer sets of clicks, and they said the noises could have aided communication by helping the animals sync up for the birthing effort. The researchers said the footage also raises questions about how such a group forms and how the whales appear to know to join.
Susan Parks, a biologist with Syracuse University who was not involved in the studies, said, “I think it’s just exciting to think about the social lives of these animals.” The scientists said that while the new findings help shed light on the whales’ hidden communication and coordination, it remains unclear when researchers will be able to answer how the group forms in the first place, given how scarce sperm whale birth footage is. The report said there are just a handful of sperm whale birth records from the past 60 years, most of which were either anecdotal accounts or observations from whaling boats.
AP video journalist Mustakim Hasnath contributed to this report.