Exploring Sperm Whale Culture

Varying between 49 and 59 ft in size, sperm whales are capable of diving to depths of 3,280 ft, and holding their breath for a maximum 90 mins. These marine behemoths are creatures of legend, made famous by “Moby Dick,” and their storied rivalry with giant squids.    

Now, a PhD candidate in biology from Dalhousie Univ. has delved into vocalized clicks from two neighboring clans of sperm whales in order to understand how whales form distinct cultures among large populations.

The study was published in Nature Communications.

“Culture in animal societies is a highly debated topic,” said Mauricio Cantor. “Some experts think it’s clear enough, while others don’t think the word ‘culture’ should be used describing anything but humans.”


Cantor made use of data from an 18-year empirical study from the university’s Whitehead Lab. Observed in the Pacific Ocean, mainly off the Galápagos Islands, for brief periods since the 1980s, the two clans voiced distinct dialects composed from a repertoire of codas, click patterns used for communication.

According to the university, Cantor and a team returned to the Galápagos Islands in 2013, and began recording more coda repertoires. Identification was achieved when whales breached the surface to breathe. “The team matched codas and behaviors to individual sperm whales” by using the ridges of their tails for identification, according to the university.

Cultural diversity among cetaceans using the same water has been noted. According to the researchers, sperm whales form matrilineal-based social units consisting of around 12 members. The units are organized into clans, with distinctive vocal repertoires. “Social units have characteristic repertoires of codas…and unit members are observed to only group with other social units from their own clan, with whom they have similar coda repertoires,” the researchers write.

Clans, according to the researchers, contain many social units and can boast thousands of members.

This suggests the presence of multi-level societies within sperm whales.  

Later, the team used computer simulations to create virtual whale clans. “We try to backtrack the patterns we observe in the wild to infer how the clan segregation could have evolved,” explained Cantor. “The computer will simulate the life of several sperm whale populations that acquire codas in different ways over thousands of years. At the end, we see which case could produce clans with different dialects.”

The researchers determined whale clans are likely the products of biased cultural transmission. According to the university, whales may learn from the most common codas, or from individuals who produce similar codas or use specific codas to mark clan identity.

From the simulation, it becomes evident whales are learning how to communicate from one another, much like humans, according to Cantor.