All articles tagged with #project ceti
Researchers captured the first recorded birth of a sperm whale, showing a coordinated group response as multiple females surround and assist the mother and newborn, suggesting a shared social role within the pod and challenging previous notions of whale individuality; the findings, published in Science based on long-term CETI observations, imply complex intelligence and cultural transmission in whale societies.
Researchers filming off Dominica captured a rare birth of a sperm whale in which surrounding females—related and unrelated—cooperated to support the laboring mother and calf, a first documented instance of birth assistance in non-primates, with vocal changes suggesting coordinated care.
Scientists documented one of the most detailed wild observations of a sperm whale birth, revealing cooperative female behavior as they protect the newborn calf and help it reach water safety, with observations tied to Project CETI.
Field observers off Dominica in July 2023 captured an 11-whale group from two matrilines coordinating a calf’s birth and postnatal care, with a core quartet lifting and maintaining the newborn at the surface for breathing while the wider group stayed cohesive; the study, aided by machine learning and computer vision to track individuals, provides rare quantitative evidence of allocare and complex sociality in sperm whales and was published in Science Advances.