Research from N.S. prof suggests sperm whales taught each other how to avoid whalers

After discovering sperm whales, they searched for the mammals in large, sail-powered whaling ships, and once whales were sighted, hunters would go out in row boats and attempt to strike them with hand-thrown harpoons. If the trip was successful, the bodies were towed back to the ship for oil processing.

Whitehead, co-author of the study, said log books from American whalers in the North Pacific show that successful harpoon strikes fell by about 58 per cent over the first few years of hunting in a region.

“I didn’t expect it to be that clear, frankly,” he said of the results. “I was pretty amazed when I looked at it.”

The Halifax university professor said the large mammals may have learned to adopt defensive measures from others in their close social units.

Some of the evasive methods noted in the log books by whalers during the 19th century included swimming upwind to evade the hunters’ row boats and getting close enough to attack the vessels.

The biggest change noted in the logs, however, was that the whales abandoned the characteristic defensive behaviour they had adopted against what was previously their main predator: killer whales.

Whitehead said sperm whales gather their young and create a barrier around them while fending off killer whales using their jaws and tails.

“This is exactly the wrong thing when you’re faced with Captain Ahab,” Whitehead said in reference to the “Moby Dick” skipper, “because to gather in a tight group, it’s a lovely, big target for someone throwing a harpoon.”

The research paper said fleeing whales possibly made themselves more visible from a distance “by blowing hard and showing their bodies forcefully, so increasing the number of sightings with groups that were not easily struck.”

The research also indicated sperm whales could likely sense and co-ordinate behaviour over several kilometres. Sperm whales are highly communicative, Whitehead added, using their massive nose to make powerful sounds.

It’s likely a group of sperm whales that had experienced whalers before and figured out how to deal with them communicated their strategy to other pods in the region, he added.

“Since the sperm whales are so social and communal, it makes sense that they do this socially and communally,” Whitehead said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2021.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Danielle Edwards, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Research from N.S. prof suggests sperm whales taught each other how to avoid whalers

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