Accounts of how sperm whales give birth are pretty rare, and video from the event is even rarer. But in 2023, a research boat in teh Caribbean studying whale communication noticed some odd calling between whales and grabbed their camera drones for deployment. What they found was astonishing, and was published in two scientific journals yesterday.
The actual birth took about half an hour. Then the whales took turns, in groups of two or three, lifting the newborn above the water with their bodies, for several hours until the calf was able to swim on its own. These were whales known to the researchers, and they identified them as the calf's grandmother, sisters, and aunts, plus a second family of sperm whales. Most of those involved were female. After the blessed event, the researchers went back and analyzed the sounds made, which is why the papers are only published now. See video clips of the whales supporting the newborn calf at AP news.
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