Nursing Behavior in Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus)
In mammals, lactation is the universal behavior of feeding offspring and has a fundamental nutritional and social value with offspring staying near their mothers. In order to obtain milk, terrestrial mammal offspring squeeze the breast of lactating females and suckle the nipples with their tongues....
Published in: | Animal Behavior and Cognition |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
HAL CCSD
2023
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-04207557 https://hal.science/hal-04207557/document https://hal.science/hal-04207557/file/Nursing-Behavior-Sperm-Whales-Sarano_et_al_ABC_10%282%29.pdf https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.10.02.02.2023 |
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ftccsdartic:oai:HAL:hal-04207557v1 |
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record_format |
openpolar |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) |
op_collection_id |
ftccsdartic |
language |
English |
topic |
Sperm whale Nursing Allonursing Suckling Underwater observations [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology [SDV.NEU.SC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Cognitive Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Sperm whale Nursing Allonursing Suckling Underwater observations [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology [SDV.NEU.SC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Cognitive Sciences Sarano, François Sarano, Véronique Tonietto, Modan-Lou Yernaux, Adrien Jung, Jean-Luc Arribart, Marion Girardet, Justine Preud'Homme, Axel Heuzey, René Delfour, Fabienne Glotin, Hervé Charrier, Isabelle Adam, Olivier Nursing Behavior in Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) |
topic_facet |
Sperm whale Nursing Allonursing Suckling Underwater observations [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology [SDV.NEU.SC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Cognitive Sciences |
description |
In mammals, lactation is the universal behavior of feeding offspring and has a fundamental nutritional and social value with offspring staying near their mothers. In order to obtain milk, terrestrial mammal offspring squeeze the breast of lactating females and suckle the nipples with their tongues. In the specific case of cetacean species, it was reported that lactating females intentionally eject milk from their mammary slit into the calves’ mouths. Nursing behavior in sperm whales has already been broadly described, but the results of our current study, based on 127 underwater videos, recording over 7 years and displaying explicit nursing behavior, bring a higher level of understanding. We first showed that sperm whale calves are proactive in getting milk. We were then able to illustrate and describe with a high level of precision their suckling behavior: firstly, the calf bumps its head onto the female’s genital area to signal the mother its willingness to suckle; secondly, the calf introduces its lower jawbone into the genital slit, this action makes the nipple pop up from its slit; thirdly, the calf squeezes the nipple with its tongue against the hard palate and suckles; fourthly, the calf removes its jawbone from the female and swims off. Moreover, our underwater visual observations provided the first direct evidence for allosuckling in sperm whales, a situation during which a calf obtains milk from an adult female who is not its mother. |
author2 |
Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB ) Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA) École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL) DYNamiques de l’Information (DYNI) Laboratoire d'Informatique et Systèmes (LIS) Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay (NeuroPSI) Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Institut Jean Le Rond d'Alembert (DALEMBERT) Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sarano, François Sarano, Véronique Tonietto, Modan-Lou Yernaux, Adrien Jung, Jean-Luc Arribart, Marion Girardet, Justine Preud'Homme, Axel Heuzey, René Delfour, Fabienne Glotin, Hervé Charrier, Isabelle Adam, Olivier |
author_facet |
Sarano, François Sarano, Véronique Tonietto, Modan-Lou Yernaux, Adrien Jung, Jean-Luc Arribart, Marion Girardet, Justine Preud'Homme, Axel Heuzey, René Delfour, Fabienne Glotin, Hervé Charrier, Isabelle Adam, Olivier |
author_sort |
Sarano, François |
title |
Nursing Behavior in Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) |
title_short |
Nursing Behavior in Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) |
title_full |
Nursing Behavior in Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) |
title_fullStr |
Nursing Behavior in Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nursing Behavior in Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) |
title_sort |
nursing behavior in sperm whales (physeter macrocephalus) |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-04207557 https://hal.science/hal-04207557/document https://hal.science/hal-04207557/file/Nursing-Behavior-Sperm-Whales-Sarano_et_al_ABC_10%282%29.pdf https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.10.02.02.2023 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-127.620,-127.620,54.983,54.983) |
geographic |
The Nipples |
geographic_facet |
The Nipples |
genre |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
op_source |
ISSN: 2372-5052 EISSN: 2372-4323 Animal Behavior and Cognition https://hal.science/hal-04207557 Animal Behavior and Cognition, 2023, 10 (2), pp.105-131. ⟨10.26451/abc.10.02.02.2023⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.26451/abc.10.02.02.2023 hal-04207557 https://hal.science/hal-04207557 https://hal.science/hal-04207557/document https://hal.science/hal-04207557/file/Nursing-Behavior-Sperm-Whales-Sarano_et_al_ABC_10%282%29.pdf doi:10.26451/abc.10.02.02.2023 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.10.02.02.2023 |
container_title |
Animal Behavior and Cognition |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
105 |
op_container_end_page |
131 |
_version_ |
1792053047275290624 |
spelling |
ftccsdartic:oai:HAL:hal-04207557v1 2024-02-27T08:44:35+00:00 Nursing Behavior in Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) Sarano, François Sarano, Véronique Tonietto, Modan-Lou Yernaux, Adrien Jung, Jean-Luc Arribart, Marion Girardet, Justine Preud'Homme, Axel Heuzey, René Delfour, Fabienne Glotin, Hervé Charrier, Isabelle Adam, Olivier Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB ) Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA) École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL) DYNamiques de l’Information (DYNI) Laboratoire d'Informatique et Systèmes (LIS) Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay (NeuroPSI) Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Institut Jean Le Rond d'Alembert (DALEMBERT) Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 2023 https://hal.science/hal-04207557 https://hal.science/hal-04207557/document https://hal.science/hal-04207557/file/Nursing-Behavior-Sperm-Whales-Sarano_et_al_ABC_10%282%29.pdf https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.10.02.02.2023 en eng HAL CCSD Animal Behavior and Cognition info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.26451/abc.10.02.02.2023 hal-04207557 https://hal.science/hal-04207557 https://hal.science/hal-04207557/document https://hal.science/hal-04207557/file/Nursing-Behavior-Sperm-Whales-Sarano_et_al_ABC_10%282%29.pdf doi:10.26451/abc.10.02.02.2023 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess ISSN: 2372-5052 EISSN: 2372-4323 Animal Behavior and Cognition https://hal.science/hal-04207557 Animal Behavior and Cognition, 2023, 10 (2), pp.105-131. ⟨10.26451/abc.10.02.02.2023⟩ Sperm whale Nursing Allonursing Suckling Underwater observations [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology [SDV.NEU.SC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Cognitive Sciences info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2023 ftccsdartic https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.10.02.02.2023 2024-01-28T00:33:35Z In mammals, lactation is the universal behavior of feeding offspring and has a fundamental nutritional and social value with offspring staying near their mothers. In order to obtain milk, terrestrial mammal offspring squeeze the breast of lactating females and suckle the nipples with their tongues. In the specific case of cetacean species, it was reported that lactating females intentionally eject milk from their mammary slit into the calves’ mouths. Nursing behavior in sperm whales has already been broadly described, but the results of our current study, based on 127 underwater videos, recording over 7 years and displaying explicit nursing behavior, bring a higher level of understanding. We first showed that sperm whale calves are proactive in getting milk. We were then able to illustrate and describe with a high level of precision their suckling behavior: firstly, the calf bumps its head onto the female’s genital area to signal the mother its willingness to suckle; secondly, the calf introduces its lower jawbone into the genital slit, this action makes the nipple pop up from its slit; thirdly, the calf squeezes the nipple with its tongue against the hard palate and suckles; fourthly, the calf removes its jawbone from the female and swims off. Moreover, our underwater visual observations provided the first direct evidence for allosuckling in sperm whales, a situation during which a calf obtains milk from an adult female who is not its mother. Article in Journal/Newspaper Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) The Nipples ENVELOPE(-127.620,-127.620,54.983,54.983) Animal Behavior and Cognition 10 2 105 131 |