Sperm whales are like Ents!
Just in case you have never read Lord of the Rings and do not know what an Ent is, or have never heard of Treebeard …
In continuing the theme of humans completely underestimating the capabilities of our fellow earth denizens (plants, animals and insects) – dolphins, crows and primates so far discussed – a newish study from Royal Society Open Science on sperm whales discussed two traits – one very human like and the other very ent like.
Sperm whales like humans seem to form clans.
Results revealed that sperm whale society is structured into clans of around 20,000 that are primarily distinguished by vocal dialects, which may be symbolic markers of clan identity. Interestingly, researchers also found that the animals only socialise with members of their own clan and make decisions on where and how to travel democratically.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/sperm-whales-research-clan-turn-right-b2476269.html
Interestingly, sperm whales may even be more clannish, communal and group oriented than humans.
The clans were found to be largely matrilineal, meaning that social units were based on around ten female sperm whales and their offspring. “Sperm whales, and in particular the females and young, are clearly very social, almost always seen close to one another, often gathering and rolling around each other for minutes to hours at the surface, and forming important life-long bonds,” the study said.
It added: “The members of the unit travel together, suckle each others’ infants, and babysit them while mothers make long deep dives to feed.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/sperm-whales-research-clan-turn-right-b2476269.html
Within that clan the decision making can be very ent-like – consensus building and time consuming.
“Sperm whales, sometimes travelling in very large groups, make important communal decisions about where to go, how fast to travel, and when to feed in an environment varying substantially in resources and containing lethal predators,” the paper stated. Many of these changes in communal behaviour are slow and messy—a group of sperm whales can take an hour or more to make a 90o turn—so likely democratic”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/sperm-whales-research-clan-turn-right-b2476269.htm
Human like, ent like, matrilineal and beautiful … what’s not to admire?