An observation of white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) mating behaviour in the wild
Herein we describe mating behaviour observed in a group of 20 white whales in Svalbard, Norway. A single female was the centre of attention during the 45-minute encounter, which was observed, photographed and videotaped at an ice edge in Storfjorden in June 2022. Several males surrounded the female...
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Norwegian Polar Institute
2023
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:62524555cd4a46148c0a17e00160859b 2023-05-15T15:41:54+02:00 An observation of white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) mating behaviour in the wild Christian Lydersen Kerstin Langenberger Kit M. Kovacs 2023-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v42.8875 https://doaj.org/article/62524555cd4a46148c0a17e00160859b EN eng Norwegian Polar Institute https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/8875/15375 https://doaj.org/toc/0800-0395 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v42.8875 https://doaj.org/article/62524555cd4a46148c0a17e00160859b Polar Research, Vol 42, Pp 1-9 (2023) aggressive group mating beluga forced copulation svalbard norway reproductive behaviour Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v42.8875 2023-04-09T00:30:38Z Herein we describe mating behaviour observed in a group of 20 white whales in Svalbard, Norway. A single female was the centre of attention during the 45-minute encounter, which was observed, photographed and videotaped at an ice edge in Storfjorden in June 2022. Several males surrounded the female and vigorously herded her from all sides. The female spy-hopped regularly, and sometimes her whole body was pushed out of the water by the other animals. High tail-lifts and tail-slapping were frequently performed by males, and erect penises were observed many times. Trumpet calls were also heard. At one point, three males with erect penises pressed themselves against the female simultaneously. The female was bleeding from wounds on her head and neck that were seemingly inflicted by bites from the other whales. She was also bleeding from her genital slit. A single copulation was seen at the surface, but it is likely that multiple males mated successfully with the female during the encounter. The event was more boisterous and violent than what has been described in captive white whales. We cannot assess how representative this observation is of typical reproductive behaviour for the species. But the encounter was remarkably similar to what has been described for several species of bottlenose dolphins that have male alliances that consort with individual females, restricting the female’s escape and keeping her accessible to mating only by members of the group. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Polar Research Storfjorden Svalbard White whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Svalbard Norway Polar Research 42 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
aggressive group mating beluga forced copulation svalbard norway reproductive behaviour Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
aggressive group mating beluga forced copulation svalbard norway reproductive behaviour Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 Christian Lydersen Kerstin Langenberger Kit M. Kovacs An observation of white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) mating behaviour in the wild |
topic_facet |
aggressive group mating beluga forced copulation svalbard norway reproductive behaviour Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
Herein we describe mating behaviour observed in a group of 20 white whales in Svalbard, Norway. A single female was the centre of attention during the 45-minute encounter, which was observed, photographed and videotaped at an ice edge in Storfjorden in June 2022. Several males surrounded the female and vigorously herded her from all sides. The female spy-hopped regularly, and sometimes her whole body was pushed out of the water by the other animals. High tail-lifts and tail-slapping were frequently performed by males, and erect penises were observed many times. Trumpet calls were also heard. At one point, three males with erect penises pressed themselves against the female simultaneously. The female was bleeding from wounds on her head and neck that were seemingly inflicted by bites from the other whales. She was also bleeding from her genital slit. A single copulation was seen at the surface, but it is likely that multiple males mated successfully with the female during the encounter. The event was more boisterous and violent than what has been described in captive white whales. We cannot assess how representative this observation is of typical reproductive behaviour for the species. But the encounter was remarkably similar to what has been described for several species of bottlenose dolphins that have male alliances that consort with individual females, restricting the female’s escape and keeping her accessible to mating only by members of the group. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Christian Lydersen Kerstin Langenberger Kit M. Kovacs |
author_facet |
Christian Lydersen Kerstin Langenberger Kit M. Kovacs |
author_sort |
Christian Lydersen |
title |
An observation of white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) mating behaviour in the wild |
title_short |
An observation of white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) mating behaviour in the wild |
title_full |
An observation of white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) mating behaviour in the wild |
title_fullStr |
An observation of white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) mating behaviour in the wild |
title_full_unstemmed |
An observation of white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) mating behaviour in the wild |
title_sort |
observation of white whale (delphinapterus leucas) mating behaviour in the wild |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v42.8875 https://doaj.org/article/62524555cd4a46148c0a17e00160859b |
geographic |
Svalbard Norway |
geographic_facet |
Svalbard Norway |
genre |
Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Polar Research Storfjorden Svalbard White whale |
genre_facet |
Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Polar Research Storfjorden Svalbard White whale |
op_source |
Polar Research, Vol 42, Pp 1-9 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/8875/15375 https://doaj.org/toc/0800-0395 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v42.8875 https://doaj.org/article/62524555cd4a46148c0a17e00160859b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v42.8875 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
container_volume |
42 |
_version_ |
1766374783413387264 |