Cooperation by non-kin during birth underpins sperm whale social complexity
Maalouf, Alaa, Delpreto, Joseph, Lucas, Maxime, Poetto, Simone, Andreas, Jacob, Torralba, Antonio, Gero, Shane, Petri, Giovanni, Rus, Daniela and Gruber, David F (2026) Cooperation by non-kin during birth underpins sperm whale social complexity. Science, 391 (6792). pp. 1355-1360.
Abstract
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.
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