#spermwhales — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #spermwhales, aggregated by home.social.
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#SpermWhales “Regularly” Toot Gas To Hang Motionless In The #Ocean While They #Sleep
“Because the oils are lighter (less dense) than other parts of the body, this causes sperm whales to passively rotate to the iconic head-up posture that we can see in photographs and observe using animal-attached tags.”
As they sleep, sperm #whales vent gas up to 11 times per rest to maintain neutral buoyancy. They “regularly” release a little air, which allows them to sink down again.
https://www.iflscience.com/sperm-whales-regularly-toot-gas-to-hang-motionless-in-the-ocean-while-they-sleep-84187 -
#Spermwhales change ‘vowel’ sounds when #boats are nearby, scientists discover
Researchers from Project #Ceti, a non-profit research organisation working to decode #spermwhale communication, spent four years tuning in on the calls of 15 sperm whales off the coast of Dominica.
They discovered specific differences in sperm #whale “codas”, the discrete and distinctive patterns of clicks that this species utters to communicate when those whales encountered shipping.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/22/sperm-whales-dominica-clicks-vowels-language-changes-shipping-noise-project-ceti -
How decoding beluga #whales’ chitchat may save them – and teach us more about ourselves
From #humpbacks learning the latest songs to #spermWhales’ ‘clan codas’, drones and AI learning are helping reveal another dimension to the concept of culture -
💁🏻♀️ TIL: 🐋🫧 Sperm #whales blow bubbles to keep from floating up while napping vertically in the #water. Researchers monitored 42 whales off #Norway’s #Lofoten Islands with suction-cup recording devices.
👉 https://www.popsci.com/environment/sperm-whales-bubbles-sleep/
#spermwhales #marinebiology #animals #behavior #ocean #science #cetaceans #sleep #biology #nature
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🚫🐋 Oh, the majestic sperm whales have unlocked the secret to vertical #beauty #sleep with their bubble-blowing antics! But wait, the real secret here is on the internet's favorite page: 403 Forbidden. 🤦♂️ Who knew whale sleep was so top secret? 😂
https://news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/sperm-whales-blow-bubbles-to-achieve-restful-vertical-sleep/ #spermwhales #bubbleblowing #403forbidden #internet #secrets #humor #HackerNews #ngated -
Sperm Whales blow bubbles to achieve restful, vertical sleep
https://news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/sperm-whales-blow-bubbles-to-achieve-restful-vertical-sleep/
Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49042751
#HackerNews #SpermWhales #Bubbles #Sleep #Science #MarineLife #WhaleBehavior
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23-Jul-2026
Blowing bubbles helps #spermWhales #sleep soundly beneath the waves -
💁🏻♀️ TIL: 🐋⚓ Sperm whales near #Dominica shorten their click sequences and shift their vowel-like #sounds when #ships are present, according to researchers from #ProjectCETI and #UCBerkeley.
The team analyzed over 1,000 codas from 15 #whales over four years, finding that rhythm and click timing best predict nearby #vessels. The findings add to efforts to decode whale #language and understand how human noise affects #marine life.
👉 https://www.popsci.com/environment/sperm-whales-change-communication-ships/
#spermwhales #cetaceans #animals #communication #bioacoustics #science #conservation #mammals #animalbehavior #linguistics #research
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💁🏻♀️ TIL: 🐋🗣️ Sperm #whales in the #Mediterranean are splitting into two dialect groups: eastern whales clicking faster, western whales clicking slower, according to researchers.
By studying over 5,000 recordings from #Greece and #Spain, scientists discovered distinct regional accents.
👉 https://www.sciencealert.com/whales-appear-to-be-evolving-a-new-dialect-in-the-mediterranean-sea
#spermwhales #animals #communication #culture #cetaceans #bioacoustics #marinebiology #evolution #nature #science #mammals #wildlife
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Different sperm whale ‘dialects’ detected on separate sides of the #Mediterranean
Matriarchal groups in east and west exhibit distinct click patterns, used to form social structureshttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/24/sperm-whale-dialects-detected-mediterranean
I didn't realise the Med had #spermWhales at all - seems like a small pond for such a big beast, also not very deep for a deep-diving species, and historically exposed to coastal whale hunters?
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Incredible Breakthrough in Whale Communication Studies - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm9ADZ28Wgo -
#SpermWhales’ communication closely parallels human #language
Analysis shows #whales’ coda vocalizations are ‘highly complex’ and remarkably similar to our own
Not only do sperm whales have a form of “alphabet” and form vowels within their vocalizations but the structure of these vowels behaves in the same way as human speech, the new study has found.
The structure of the whales’ communication has “close parallels in the phonetics and phonology of human languages"
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/15/sperm-whales-alphabet-vocalizations-similar-humans -
"Sperm whales’ communication closely parallels human language, study finds"
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New Non-Invasive Drone Method Determines Sperm Whale Sex and Age from Aerial Photos
📰 Original title: Inferring sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) sex and developmental stage using aerial photogrammetry
🤖 IA: It's not clickbait ✅
👥 Usuarios: It's not clickbait ✅View full AI summary: https://killbait.com/en/new-non-invasive-drone-method-determines-sperm-whale-sex-and-age-from-aerial-photos/?redirpost=e5b8eb63-5e04-4a7a-ab5e-30057acc01cd
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Little by little, Homo sapiens is coming down from its pedestal. We are discovering that many species use forms of communication just as sophisticated as our own.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/15/sperm-whales-alphabet-vocalizations-similar-humans -
Scientists Capture First-Ever Detailed Footage of Sperm Whale Birth https://petapixel.com/2026/03/30/scientists-capture-first-ever-detailed-footage-of-sperm-whale-birth/ #Miscellaneous #aerialfootage #dronefootage #spermwhales #spermwhale #drone
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Scientists Filmed a #Whale #Birth. The Surprise: Mom Had Many Helpers.
Involving a group of #spermwhales, adds to evidence that humans aren’t the only species that gets some form of assistance during and after delivery.
In #whales, it appears that baleen species are more solitary during birth and that the mother alone raises the calf to the surface to breathe. But for some toothed species, like sperm whales, birth is a collective experience.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/climate/sperm-whale-birth-assistance.html
https://archive.ph/dPGZV -
Drone Captures First-Ever Footage of ‘Moby Dick’ Whales Headbutting Each Other https://petapixel.com/2026/03/24/drone-captures-first-ever-footage-of-moby-dick-whales-headbutting-each-other/ #aerialfootage #dronefootage #spermwhales #Technology #whales #drone #News
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UC #Berkeley #scientists hail breakthrough in decoding #whale #communication
According to a new study from Begus and his colleagues with Project #CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative), the whales make sounds that resemble vowels, a key part of human language.
Although scientists already knew that #spermwhales communicate with codas — sequences of clicks analogous to #MorseCode — the study indicates a more complex communication system.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/scientists-breakthrough-decoding-whales-21184413.php -
How #Scientists Are Using #Drones to Study #SpermWhales
A new tagging method called tap-and-go allows researchers to gather more data on the health and behavior of #whales, with less disruption.
Instead of dropping a tag from above, this #drone will press against the whale’s back to attach a specialized sensor. The tag’s suction cups will stick to the #whale’s skin, allowing the device to record audio of these #marinemammals communicating.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/science/whales-drones-acoustics-tagging.html
https://archive.ph/JYCLH -
Now, research suggests that sperm whales’ communication is actually much more expressive and complicated than was previously thought.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/05/07/1092127/the-way-whales-communicate-is-closer-to-human-language-than-we-realized/ The way whales communicate is closer to human language than we realized
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Ancient fossil sperm #whale may have been active predator https://phys.org/news/2025-05-ancient-patagonian-fossil-sperm-whale.html
Awakening #Patagonia's sleeping #SpermWhale: a new description of the Early #Miocene Idiorophus patagonicus. By Florencia Paolucci et al. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.70007
"Its snout features point to a lifestyle quite different from modern sperm #whales. It was likely an active predator of large #fish and possibly #seabirds, while extant #SpermWhales feed mostly on #cephalopods or small fish through suction feeding"
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#Climate-drive departures of #spermwhales, jumbo #squid from Gulf of California raise ecosystem concerns
Scientists sound alarm after documenting mass evacuation of sperm whales: 'A sentinel signal' The departure of the sperm #whales followed the exodus of their chief source of prey.
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4920383-sperm-whales-gulf-of-california-ecosystem-instability-study/ -
Large number of #whale sightings off #NewEngland, including dozens of endangered sei whales https://phys.org/news/2024-06-large-whale-sightings-england-dozens.html
"A research flight made 161 sightings of seven different species of #whales on May 25 south of #MarthasVineyard and southeast of #Nantucket... The sightings included 93 of #SeiWhales, and that is one of the highest concentrations of the rare whale during a single flight... There were also endangered North Atlantic #RightWhales as well as humpback, fin, minke and #SpermWhales"