Woman Captures Rare Video of Sperm Whales ‘Cuddling’ and Socializing
A professional diver captured a rare video at the beginning of June of a group of sperm whales 'cuddling'. Kayleigh was having a lucky day using a drone for the first time when she noticed the drone picking up a pod of sperm whales near the water's surface. It's amazing to see!
Make sure your sound is on so you can listen as Kayleigh explains what is going on between the male, female, and calf sperm whales. Some of the whales are vertical, meaning they are resting. One male opens his mouth and shows his teeth as a sign of dominance. He also puts a baby in his mouth, which is known as raking. It's all quite fascinating!
Wow! What an incredible thing to see! I thought it was cool that Kayleigh said that sperm whales can dive up to 10,000 feet deep for over an hour, so seeing them just hanging out was a unique experience. I agree with commenter @G who said, "Once in a lifetime opportunity. So amazing!" and with @Heidi79 who added, "This is so interesting! Thank you for the perspective."
Facts About Sperm Whales
Commenter @Daniel Sillje was in disbelief, "Sperm whales can dive 10,000 feet/over 3,000 meters!?" It seems the answer isn't crystal clear. Marine Patch says that they can dive 2,000 meters, or about 6,200 feet for up to two hours while hunting giant squid, sharks, skates, and fish. "Squid just so happens to be the sperm whales’ favorite food, with females being able to eat anywhere between 700 – 800 squids on any given day."
But National Geographic says, "Sperm whales are known to dive as deep as 3,280 feet in search of squid to eat. These giant mammals must hold their breath for up to 90 minutes on such dives." Interestingly, sperm whales have the largest brain of any creature known to have lived on Earth. This actually might tie in to how they're able to dive so deep, "Their heads also hold large quantities of a substance called spermaceti. Scientists still do not understand the function of spermaceti. One common theory is that the fluid—which hardens to wax when cold—helps the whale alter its buoyancy so it can dive deep and rise again."
And sperm whales function as a family, "Sperm whales are often spotted in groups (called pods) of some 15 to 20 animals. Pods include females and their young, while males may roam solo or move from group to group. Females and calves remain in tropical or subtropical waters all year long, and apparently practice communal childcare." Males head out to tropical waters to mate during mating season.
I'm so glad Kayleigh was able to share her incredible video with all of us because it really was a thing most people will never get to see for themselves.
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