Sperm whales work together to look after children

For mothers, finding someone reliable to take care of their children while working is a big challenge. So we must understand the worries of sperm whales, because their children weigh approximately one ton and drink about 200 liters of milk per day.

A sperm whale swims next to her mother in her herd.This baby was born just one hour before the photo was taken.Photo: AP.

Sperm whales are one of the largest whales that live on the deepest earth. They can dive to depths of more than 600 meters and launch underwater underwater in an hour to search for food. However, the young cannot dive deep and have to wait for their mother on the water. In the meantime, they will become the prey of killer whales and sharks - the animals always follow the sperm whales to catch the young.

Biologists from St Andrews University (Scotland), Durham University (UK) and Dalhousie University (Canada) discovered that some mother-in-arms received responsibility for taking care of young fish while others Dive deep to find bait.

The team followed 23 fish-born babies and their families on the Sargasso Sea (north of the Atlantic Ocean) for 2 years by research submarines. They found that at all times, there were only a few mums floating on the water to take care of all the young in the herd. Then they dive down to find bait when the others climb up instead. The team also saw a mother giving babies to herds, although only one of them was born.

'The sperm whale has a slow reproductive rate. Their two consecutive births are 5 years apart. Therefore, each child is a huge asset to mother whale fish. In the small herd, the responsibility to take care of the fry is assigned to a single child. But in the big group, the mother children take turns looking at the young. That behavior is done in a way that is back and forth, 'said Dr. Luke Rendell, marine biologist at the University of St Andrews.

Shane Gero, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University, said sperm whales are the species with the largest brain of any species on the earth. They are also highly social. Many recent studies have shown that sperm whales often 'sing' when they get to know each other. Although females work together when taking care of their babies, males tend to live alone. They only pair with children during the breeding season.