International scientists have traced the family tree of a family of sperm whales in the intertropical waters of the Indian Ocean, a world first, they say. Based in Mauritius, they assigned names to these cetaceans, such as Varuna, Ali or Romeo. They also produced two fascinating documentaries about this work, which spanned over ten years.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Port-Louis, Abdoolah Earally
For more than a decade, scientists have patiently studied sperm whales off the coast of Mauritius. They have accumulated a wealth of information, using a method of passive observation, insists Axel Preud’homme, responsible for collecting data. “ What is important is how the sperm whales accepted us. We get in the water, we’re at their place. It’s them who will decide to come see us, or not “, he explains.
Respecting the animal and studying its behavior over the long term allowed researchers to establish the family tree of a clan of sperm whales and present two documentaries: The World of Whales And Breastfeeding practices among sperm whales.
Two underwater documentaries
Underwater filmmaker René Heuzey contributed to this research. “ I pay a lot of attention in my images to the look. The sperm whale knows that I am nearby and that he accepts me. For me, it is the most beautiful reward that nature can offer me “, he confides.
Scientists collaborate with the Indian Ocean Marine Life Foundation. Megan Kwan Tat, the NGO’s youth ambassador, deplores the impact of tourism on these cetaceans. “ Injuries caused by propellers have been seen on several occasions. They practically throw tourists at the sperm whales. It’s not respectful, not ecological and not ethical », denounces Megan Kwan Tat.
To raise awareness among young people, the foundation and the Mauritian authorities launched an educational program for 20,000 children aged 6 to 10 on the preservation of marine life.
On the occasion of the documentary Breastfeeding practices among sperm whalesthe researchers followed a family of sperm whales, which they nicknamed Irène’s Crooked Mouth clan, with whom they experienced unique moments.
These are the results of 10 years of work with Irène Gueule Tordue’s clan. We shared wonderful moments of intimacy, the moment when the mother lets her little one nurse, offers her milk and at the same time, we described that for the first time in the world. No one had ever seen a mother sperm whale breastfeeding her newborn! This allowed us to understand that the structure of the clan was all about caring for the young and that it was not just the mother who let her little one nurse. The mother was often assisted by a breastfeeding nanny who, when the mother had less milk, when the mother was not there, came to offer her milk. And the bonds that will be forged between the child and the nursing nanny are very strong, almost as strong as the bonds between the child and the mother.
Oceanographer François Sarano
Also readAmerican scientists in Mauritius to bring the dodo back to life