Male sperm whales use the enemy's forehead and sink the boat

By computer simulation and data analysis of bone and bone structure, scientists have shown that sperm whales use their forehead to knock the enemy and can sink ships larger than 4-5 times body weight. them.

Physeter macroceplalus is the largest species of toothed whales. Males can be up to 16m long and weigh 42 tons, their heads alone account for 1/3 of the whole body length.

Historically, there have been many cases of sperm whales sinking ships, with ships weighing up to 216 tons, 4-5 times their weight, according to Live Science. The New Bedford Whale Museum in Massachusetts, USA, described four times the whale fish attacking hunting boats during the period from 1820 to 1902.

The scene of hunting fishes for oil in the 19th century (Photo: Biodiversity Heritage Library).

Owen Chase, a whale hunter in the nineteenth century, owner of the Essex ship wrecked in 1820, hypothesized that sperm whales use their foreheads as weapons to fight for their partners and crush the hunting ship into pieces. chips.

According to research published in PeerJ magazine on April 5, by using computer simulations based on structural engineering principles and analyzing tissue and bone structure data, scientists have modeled effects on sperm whales, with many forces and from different directions.

They then assessed how the force was absorbed and dispersed by two large oil bags stacked on top of the sperm whale: the upper part was the body containing sperm whale oil (spermaceti) that had the function of producing sound and part. "garbage" lies underneath - mainly connective tissue that helps locate echoes. The lower part is called "trash" because the oil contains no value and is often thrown away by whale hunters.

Due to the special structure, tissue areas in the "garbage" disperse significantly exert force, so it is possible to protect sperm whale bones during a collision.

"Our research shows that the mechanical advantage in 'garbage' structure can be the result of selection through aggressive competition behavior among males," said Olga Panagiotopoulou, the lead author of study said. Aggressive behavior is common in many animals, especially in males when fighting for partners.