Sperm Whale Behaviors
Diving
Flukes often go straight up as they go down for a deep dive
Photo Credit: Dominica Sperm Whale Health Initiative - Capt. Wendall Ettienne
Pec Slapping
Slamming their pectoral flippers/fins against the water鈥檚 surface
Photo Credit: Dominica Sperm Whale Health Initiative - Capt. Wendall Ettienne
Aerials
Jumping into the air with full or over half of its body exposed
Photo Credit: https://www.cwazores.com/realm-of-the-sperm-whale
Tail Slapping
Forcefully slapping its tail flukes on the water's surface to produce a loud sound and large splash
Photo Credit: firmm.org
Nursing Calf
Spyhopping
Heads come straight up out of the water so they can look and listen above water. They are not forcefully splashing the water afterwards.
Adam U / NOAA/NMFS/Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Blog 2013 07 29, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Brought Food to the Surface
Prey items or pieces of prey items that the whale is still eating or has left at the surface of the water
Male Presence
Males- 15-18 m (49-59 ft)
Females- 11-12 m (33-40 ft)
Figure 1.1 in W眉rsig, B., Rich, J., & Orbach, D. N. (2023). Sex and behavior. In Sex in Cetaceans: Morphology, Behavior, and the Evolution of Sexual Strategies (pp. 1-27). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Logging/Resting on the surface
Floating almost motionless at the surface of the water
Photo Credit: alamy.com