Cooperation by non-kin during birth underpins sperm whale social complexity
We quantitatively document a sperm whale birth event, revealing collective support behaviors across kinship lines. Using high-resolution drone footage, computer vision, and multiscale network analysis, we studied the interactions within a Caribbean sperm whale unit comprising two matrilines. Our results suggest that a female family member led birth assistance and that after delivery, all individuals oriented toward and helped lift the newborn, taking turns in a coordinated, cross-kin effort. Despite historically observed foraging segregation, kinship barriers dissolved as all unit members contributed. These analyses provide evidence of birth attendance, or assistance, in a nonprimate species, a behavior long considered characteristic only of humans and their close relatives.
Authors
- Shane Gero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6854-044X)
- Joseph DelPreto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8162-5317)
- Alaa Maalouf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3800-9460)
- Giovanni Petri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1847-5031)
- David F. Gruber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9041-2911)
- Daniela L. Rus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5473-3566)
- Jacob Andreas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3141-5845)
- Antonio Torralba (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4915-0256)
- Simone Poetto
- Maxime Lucas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8044-1399)
Institutions
- The Graduate Center, CUNY (US)
- Northeastern University (US)
- Institute for Scientific Interchange (IT)
- Baruch College (US)
- University of Namur (BE)
- Dominica State College (DM)
- Nicolaus Copernicus University (PL)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Carleton University (CA)
- University of Haifa (IL)
- UCLouvain (BE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2026-03-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ady9280
- Primary Topic
- Marine animal studies overview
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00