Whales are fascinating creatures – they form tight-knit bonds with each other, possess complex communication systems, and sustain rich cultures that are unique across different species. They are complex animals with complex behaviors, which can sometimes leave researchers baffled, as seen when they rescue other animals from danger.
BIOLOGISTS IN DISBELIEF
In 2009, marine ecologist Robert L. Pitman and marine biologist John W. Durban recounted in the journal, Natural History, how they sailed to the Antarctic Peninsula to document the hunting techniques of Orcas who prey on Seals living on and around the ice.
They did not expect to also be documenting how Humpback Whales would disrupt Orcas in the middle of these hunts.
Three times during their expedition, they observed Humpback Whales thwarting the Orcas’ attempts to reach the Seals resting on ice floes. The Humpbacks would bellow, thrash the water, and shield Seals from Orcas in a seeming attempt to protect them.
INCREDIBLE RESCUE
If that’s not amazing enough, another extraordinary encounter established even more that Humpbacks are heroes of the ocean.
In 2017, while making a film in the Cook Islands, marine biologist Nan Hauser tried to get close to a couple of Humpback Whales for footage when all of a sudden, one of the Whales “charged” upon her, nudging and pushing her in the water for over ten minutes. When she finally got a bit away from the Whale, she was able to look at the other Whale and noticed that they were slapping their tails.
That was when she also noticed that there was another Whale swimming rapidly towards her. But because of how the two other Whales were moving, she realized that it was not a Whale approaching but instead a large Tiger Shark.
“And then the [W]hale just at that moment came up behind me and put me on his head, and just pushed me as fast as he could to the back of the boat,” Hauser recalled.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Do Whales protect animals due to instinct? Is it a mistake? Or is it an indication that Whales are capable of altruism?
Humpback Whales have been observed in nature numerous times trying to save and rescue other animals, such as Gray Whales, Weddell Seals, Crabeater Seals, Northern Elephant Seals, Steller Sea Lions, California Sea Lions, and Ocean Sunfishes from Mammal-eating Orcas.
Robert L. Pitman and his team reviewed over 100 interactions of Humpback Whales and Mammal-eating Killer Whales (MEKW) recorded from 1951 to 2012 to try and find out why Whales interfered with MEKW attacks and feedings. Humpbacks would approach MEKWs most of the time and their mobbing behavior would cause the “prey” to escape (talk about daring)! And when MEKWs attack, they would target only the Whale calves and juveniles.
The researchers said, “Although reciprocity or kin selection might explain communal defense of conspecific calves, there was no apparent benefit to humpbacks continuing to interfere when other species were being attacked. Interspecific altruism, even if unintentional, could not be ruled out.”
No matter what others may say, these interactions prove that empathy exists outside humankind.
In a world where it is so easy to ignore others’ suffering, Humpbacks teach us to be more aware, more emotionally intelligent and more courageous in the face of danger–simply put, they teach us to be better humans.
Interspecific altruism, even if unintentional, could not be ruled out.
HUMAN-CENTRIC WORLDVIEW
There are pros and cons when comparing other animals’ actions to ours for us to understand them.
One positive example is that the actions of other animals serve as lessons for us to become better humans, seeing that we are alike in many ways. Humanizing animals helps us relate to their plight and condition – it prevents us from further doing them harm and enables us to advocate for them in the best way possible.
However, we could have a tendency to over-anthropomorphize non-human animals. In a 2014 study by University of Toronto researchers led by Patricia Ganea, assistant professor with the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, children “are more likely to endorse anthropocentric traits for specific animals after being exposed to books that anthropomorphize those animals than after being exposed to books that present the animals in a realistic manner.”
The study goes on to say that anthropomorphized books “may not only lead to less learning but also influence children to adopt a human-centered view of the natural world.”
Anthropomorphizing animals may result in untoward actions, such as supporting the purchase of “exotic” animals as “pets”, and may lead to a misinterpretation of the biological or instinctive actions of animals in the wild – this could be dangerous.
HOW WHALES ARE LIKE HUMANS
Aside from empathy, Whales share many other traits with humans. A major study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution provides a list of such traits.
- Working together for mutual benefit
- “Name” recognition
- Working with different species
- Looking after youngsters that aren’t their own
- Social play
THEY GRIEVE LIKE US
In a chapter in the Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior, researchers observed that, like humans, cetaceans also experience grief. They were observed to stay near their dead, lifting and keeping them afloat, and moving or carrying them along the waters, as if they were holding a funeral.
“Observations of cetaceans (the taxonomic group that includes Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises) suggest that at least in some cases – most notably upon the death of an offspring – behavioral patterns and emotional responses can parallel those found among humans and other terrestrial mammals,” researchers stated.
EMPATHY: NOT SPECIES-EXCLUSIVE
Humpbacks have proven time and time again that taking action for those who are in need knows no species, that empathy and altruism are not exclusive to humankind, and that we can learn so much from their demonstration of cooperation, care, and inclusion.
It is safe to say that not all heroes wear capes… sometimes, they have fins.
