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The sperm whale monitoring campaign in the Canary Islands continues to "bring joy" to scientists. After several days of sightings of the species from the boat "Oso Ondo", the researchers were finally able to share an hour with a group of 12 sperm whales about 5 miles from Puerto Calero. The group of animals, made up of mothers and their young, approached the boat and performed a spectacular display of jumps, turns and sounds, according to a statement.
Researchers from the Society for the Study of Cetaceans in the Canary Archipelago (SECAC) were able to locate these sperm whales "socializing" in the coastal waters of Lanzarote. Initially the animals moved south, swimming on the surface and making successive dives to search for food. But late in the afternoon, as the sun went down, the team of experts had the opportunity to witness the sperm whales, which were moving in a front of several miles. The group was mainly composed of females with young, as corresponds to these latitudes of the North Atlantic.
After approaching the boat, the sperm whales showed special curiosity about the hydrophones that are dragged by the boat. For an hour, the cetaceans did not stop performing jumps, displays of the tail, the head, turns, and a myriad of acoustic emissions (the species' main communication tool). After that time, the group dispersed and returned to the activity in which they spend most of their lives, the search for food.
The male leaves the group
The subsequent analysis of the information obtained during this sighting confirmed that it was a social unit, which had already been sighted two years ago, practically in the same area. According to these scientists, the sperm whale is a very social species. It forms family groups called "social units" composed mostly of females (grandmothers, mothers, aunts) and young of both sexes.
This is because, upon reaching sexual maturity, males separate from the family, forming bachelor groups composed of several animals. Over the years, these groups are disintegrating, so that large adult males leave the middle latitudes to move to areas near the poles and only return to mate. Only females remain together for long periods in these social units in middle latitudes, such as the Canary Islands area.
They usually separate during the day to feed, in areas that span several miles where they capture squid, the basis of their diet. Several times a day, the animals of the same social unit or family group meet to socialize and remain so for approximately one hour.
Projects to save sperm whales
The Society for the Study of Cetaceans in the Canary Archipelago, in collaboration with WWF Spain and Obra Social Caja Madrid, is carrying out the project "Sperm Whale Conservation in the Canary Islands". The initiative seeks to obtain scientific information about the species, in order to implement appropriate measures to guarantee the survival of populations in the area. The sperm whale is mainly threatened by collisions with high-speed boats.
This will be one of the main points on the agenda of the 63rd edition of the International Whaling Convention that will begin next week in Jersey (Great Britain). The objective of this project is to ensure that the Canarian population and its visitors "know the presence of sperm whales in their waters, that the survival of this species in the Archipelago is guaranteed and that navigation in its waters is carried out without risk of collision with sperm whales or other cetaceans".
In parallel, the project develops outreach and social awareness activities aimed at the general public, and schoolchildren in particular. This phase began on June 3, specifically in La Graciosa. The students of 4th, 5th and 6th grade of Primary, and 1st and 2nd of ESO of the Ignacio Aldecoa school had the opportunity to know all the details about the sperm whale. For its part, an institute in Arrecife was the scene of the second educational session, in which high school students participated. Likewise, the activities of World Environment Day, organized by the City Council of the town of Teguise, the General Secretariat of the Sea, the Autonomous Body of National Parks and WWF, featured this giant of the oceans.
Awareness actions
It is planned that from the month of September the awareness actions for schoolchildren will be intensified, through talks in different institutes of the Archipelago and the implementation of a state-of-the-art online educational program, focused on students of third cycle of Primary in schools throughout the islands.