Overview
- Peer-reviewed studies published in March 2026 in Science and Scientific Reports present the first filmed sperm whale birth and describe coordinated care.
- Researchers documented the scene off Dominica in July 2023 with eleven whales from two separate families that usually travel apart.
- The birth lasted about 33 minutes, the calf was raised to the surface within a minute and held there for about an hour, and the group stayed together for roughly two hours.
- Drones and underwater microphones captured video and distinct clicking patterns that the authors say may have served as coordination cues.
- Newborn sperm whales can sink because they have negative buoyancy, so the adults’ lifting likely kept the calf alive until it could swim on its own.