The Insane Biology of: The Sperm Whale

[@realscience]

Be sure to check out the Field Notes episode that goes along with this video on Nebula! In this episode we talk to the experts about what its like to study - and dissect - such massive creatures, and what its like to be crushed by one while kayaking. Watch it by signing up to the bundle deal at curiositystream.com/realscience

[@khango6138]

Field Nymphs is an amazing idea for a series, I gotta go watch it now! This is right up my alley, the human story behind every scientific discovery, conservation success, and, heart break.

[@supermaster2012]

It's not really a discount if it's always been that price since Nebula was released to the public. In fact, there is federal legislation against this kind of false advertisement.

[@kathleenmann7311]

Life sucks sometimes. It’s a good time to have a reality conversation.

[@realscience]

@@supermaster2012 it is a discount right now for the holidays

[@kevinderrick2787]

Honest question- Do you do these videos in imperial units?

[@Pure_Malevolence]

The idea of a sperm whale, that is potentially sentient, diving down and just sonic blasting the shit out a giant squid is epic.

[@anxiousseal556]

Can't wait until they goes through next step of evolution and started making memes

[@viktorbirkeland6520]

That was actually some incredibly great insight, the stuff about "they stay in one place, relatively still, so there is a possibility they are ambush predators" I'd never even considered it, the whole teeth not to hold with, and a whale as big as a building being an ambush predator!

[@zombieGI]

They are all sentient, i believe the correct term is self aware. And that seems to be more and more a matter of degree not what we consider an actual threshold. I think that should be self evident just by studying humans alone

[@Pure_Malevolence]

@@zombieGI You are correct I was entirely to focused on the “sonic blasting the shit” part. My b.

[@althechicken9597]

B GONE T H O T

[@cameronsitton501]

Imagine you're swimming and some whale yells "YO GARY" to get a buddy's attention and you just get shredded

[@tnhnoztel]

lol

[@gamingcreatesworlddd2425]

😂that would be disastrr​@macemaster

[@sirensynapse5603]

No.

[@cameronsitton501]

@@sirensynapse5603 Can't argue with that. Have a nice day

[@QuietlyCurious]

What an epic death. Ngl I'd be proud

[@CaioRodrigues001]

Deepest diver, loudest screams, biggest brains, biggest toothed predator and idk how many other records broken! Truly an amazing creature

[@robotdeer]

Biggest nose!

[@BionicMAGA-xi3uy]

Biggest head.

[@magpye5623]

And a terrifying one! God these guys are fascinating but also so scary

[@Brandon-br7tc]

Ass well as one of the most oddest names in the animal kingdom lol

[@PrayerOfMannesah]

Put a camera on them so we can see where they go😢..

[@ohedd]

The bit about whales possibly learning and conveying strategies for evading whalers is extremely interesting. I also wonder if the intelligence of the sperm whale and the intelligence of the squid came as a result of an arms race with each other. If so, sperm whale intelligence appear to have evolved more in the direction of human intelligence; where we evolved abilities to communicate and organize and take advantage of collective intelligence. By contrast the squid, who's a solitary animal, evolved incredible spatial intelligence and abilities to solve complex cognitively demanding tasks.

[@katebretusch3752]

It IS interesting. Like monkeys eyesight and snakes venom

[@itsm3th3b33]

That sounds like made up BS. 😅

[@psychedashell]

I think it has more to do with the groupings of animal they belong to. All Odontoceti are super-smart with high level teamwork skills, killer whales literally formed alliances with humans in which the killer whales locate the bigger whales, the humans killed the bigger whales and tributed the killer whales with choice cuts for their help. All Cephalopods are extremely inteligent puzzle solvers with octopus solving mazes, bottles and other human made challenges.

[@jainin7682]

I wouldnt parallel evolution with the human arms race. Sperm whales are situated in the position of predator in this situation by default due to thier biology the advanced communication isnt needed to help them hunt, as far as I can tell they do just fine solo although communication may be useful to relay where there are alot if prey. Also, the ease with which they hunt (probably by stunning thier prey with sonar, makes it seem to almost not even feel as much like hunting.. more like.. grazing😅

[@thatpandaz6094]

​@@itsm3th3b33Well, a hypothesis are always made up bs drawn from logic that sometimes turn out to be true

[@stomp21]

Imagine you open your eyes and you realize you're a sperm whale, surrounded by your pod. You look around to see nothing else except the ocean. Your pod tells you that its time to go deep into the dark abyss to hunt. Your heart starts beating faster and faster as you dive deep and the only comfort you have is your pod of whales. Its gets darker and darker and you lose sight of them but you're still able to communicate. You gain immense respect for whales but also wish you can return to being a human, as the cold dark Abyss terrifies you. You wake up and let out a sigh of relief. Your mom comes in the room but her head is a whale, so you go back to sleep.

[@CoNteMpTone]

full novel trilogy about this please

[@Reldonator]

Whale Animorph would be sick tbh

[@mintcake2668]

Actually your heart should beat slower and slower as you dive, or you will be in big trouble.

[@usergafe]

respectfully, wtf is that ending

[@alexv3357]

@@Reldonator There was that one time Cassie paradropped into a reservoir by becoming a bird, and then keeping the bird wings while morphing into a whale in mid-air. (I think this was on the Hork-Bajir world, but I don't remember which book that was)

[@RobinCrusoe1952]

I hope when, if, we decipher their language the first thing we should communicate is how profoundly sorry we are for almost bringing about their extermination.

[@omarcarrero3623]

If they were able to have human level of language skills, then we should tell them how ashamed they should feel that them being such big, powerful and intelligent were brought close to extinction by a bunch of hairless apes

[@kyleorr533]

Maybe…but even though their language may be more complex than ours, it doesn’t mean that they have the same concepts as us such as remorse. Would be cool to have some semblance of a dialogue with other creatures though.

[@mollydooker9636]

@@kyleorr533 I think an apology would be more to assuage our guilt as humans. However I agree they may not grasp remorse as an emotion or they may not care an iota for our feelings. But neither would it surprise me if they understand the full gamut of human emotions and have a few additional ones of their own.

[@geronimo9193]

Evolution maybe they should try it

[@AngryDad.]

Lmao

[@daniell1483]

I don't know why, but the idea of making a Rosetta Stone for the sperm whale's language really hits me in the feels. For so long, humans have been wondering if we are alone in the universe and spent so much time looking into space to try and find neighbors, when in reality we should have been looking into the oceans. Sperm whales and orca both have complex languages, and I wouldn't be one bit surprised if we found out one or both are sapient, and sentient, creatures. I honestly can't wait for this teased video.

[@infinitemonkey917]

We already know that they are sapient and sentient. Humans aren't that special. It would be incredible to also discover a separate abiogenesis.

[@daniell1483]

@@infinitemonkey917 I don't think you understand the terminology I used. Sapience isn't just "smart creature", it is the capacity to consider abstract concepts. So when you claim so boldly that they are sapient, you are claiming sperm whales could, say, solve mathematic equations, or consider the morality of their own existence as predatory animals. This is something which, to the best of my knowledge, is NOT something science has proven yet.

[@dustman96]

@@daniell1483 You have apparently spent little time in nature observing animals. Many kinds of animals are actively using their intellect to figure out the best course of action based on available information to achieve the best outcome for themselves, their family, or their species. Sometimes even for members of other species. Humans are only "special" because of their accumulation of knowledge and technology, which has built upon itself over tens of thousands of years. Just imagine yourself dropped in the middle of nowhere without any technology. That's right, you'd die, no matter what your ego tells you. When you take a step back and look at human society, it is actually quite stupid, and so are the people in it.

[@infinitemonkey917]

@@daniell1483 Sapient comes from the Latin word sapiens, meaning wise or intelligent ( Merriam ). Other sources include self aware in the definition. I have no doubt cetaceans are both intelligent and self aware.

[@daniell1483]

@@infinitemonkey917 Okay, I won't pretend that intelligence is not part of the package that define "sapience", but you are deliberately ignoring the other half of the definition, "self awareness". And this second meaning is the one I am specifically questioning. The fact you are trying to use semantics to get away from my original post tells me you are just trying to play a word game instead of actually delivering an answer with substance.

[@Deviantial]

Can you imagine if one day we actually manage to understand their language and communicate with these magnificent creatures?

[@eljanrimsa5843]

Once they understand English we will order them to attack Russian sperm whales.

[@derusmares9508]

Whales: "Where the 304's at?"

[@funveeable]

No a whale does not have a language even close to our language. Our language allows us to transfer knowledge across multiple generations to increase our knowledge and allow us to build and innovate. A whale has sounds that have as many words as we have numbers. We have an infinite number of numbers and a unique set of words for each number, so the whales are probably just calling out where they are. Whales cannot innovate and do not know anything that their grandparents knew, so they have no real language.

[@skybluskyblueify]

I wonder if they tell each other tales about the past when humans were killing them.Or if they talk about the past at all?

[@pranneilthankavel6424]

we would of course need to explain to them why we hunted them.

[@autumnwind4741]

Killing animals like Sperm Whales, Orcas,Beluga Whales and dolphins is morally wrong as these creatures are sentient beings who can speak their own language

[@TovenDo.O.Video-]

Dolphins and Orcas are kind of extremely evil beings though, it's like killing criminals

[@Fish-pi8lv]

@@TovenDo.O.Video-not all of them. They are diverse in behavior like humans. Humans do the same stuff too, so you can’t really get mad at them

[@pogonomyrmexrugosus6240]

Humans don't give a shit about killing. They'll do it all day every day.

[@Whoami691]

​@@TovenDo.O.Video- they can be The problem with mixing killing and intelligence is that you inevitably create cruelty

[@wilhoroshak6253]

Yea well every animal kills other animals for fun. Monkeys rip each other apart, Lions kill other lions and so on. Life is brutal. I don’t support whaling and it’s gross that it happens but you can’t stop the Asians and Europeans from doing so, if only whales were smart enough to just try and survive in waters where they weren’t hunted. Only to get “blinded” by military sonar in “safe” waters. To be honest all animal life is threatened by human intervention. I think if whales dolphins and orcas were as smart as some people say they are, they would kill all humans, but since they don’t, I doubt they’re sentient as you say. Any animal that has a “language” would have made a word for humans and would be actively trying to kill us.

[@erikhendrickson59]

The mathematics of multi-path sonar are incredibly complex. How these animals can determine the direction of a whale cry, over bundreds of miles distance, has always been fascinating to me. Sonar waves can bounce not only off the ocean floor (obviously) but also the ocean surface and even get trapped in "water tunnels" created by differing water temperatures and salinity. The maths to calculate these things, for example on nuclear-powered subs, are some of our most highly-classified military secrets. So how do these whales do it? Are they effectively solving complex trigonometric equations in their head?

[@user-gg8tl5yt7d]

of course not. you don't have to mathematically calculate the acceleration and trajectory arc of a thrown ball in order to catch it.

[@macberg5806]

@@user-gg8tl5yt7dthis is more like catching a ball from hundreds of kilometres away and knowing where the person who threw it was standing

[@gamingcreatesworlddd2425]

​@@macberg5806hmm

[@alexv3357]

@@macberg5806 This being multipath sonar, however, it's more like catching a dozen different balls of varying sizes from as many directions over the course of several seconds and then triangulating the direction and source based on all of those

[@jillhurst7390]

Hmmm does that suggest a creator God? It should. All Glory to him.

[@trulyinfamous]

The fact that this channel not only has actual captions but also cites sources is awesome. You're setting a good example.

[@georgewilson9121]

the sperm whale was not fished out as they are claiming the sperm whales were difficult to get but its true fossilized petrolium did kill the whaling industry it luckily went bust before the damage would have been complete

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

Humans wanting to communicate with aliens always struck me as odd when we can't communicate with other Earth animals...

[@adamwu4565]

It's not the same individual people wanting these things though. As concurrent with those people speculating about communicating with aliens, other people have been and are still working on communicating with cetaceans and other lifeforms on Earth that we think possess a complex communication system. As a civilization, we can multitask.

[@teovu5557]

Humans want to communicate with advanced alien civilizations(which must have some form of language system of some sort) while most animals on Earth besides a few have no real "complex language system".

[@Leto_0]

"We cAn LeArN sO mUCh fRoM tHeM!"

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

@@teovu5557 that's the trouble: "complex communication". Pheromones, chemicals, light, supersonic and subsonic, color. These are forms of communication we can't use, and they can potentially be complex too. Look up The Great Chain of Being, and you'll see why "complex" is often synonymous with "human-like". If they are "simple" and we are complex, why can't we understand their simpler communication if we are so complex?

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

@@adamwu4565 :) I'm all for that multitasking. My worry is people confusing complex with human-like/compatible. Too often different is considered inferior, by the prevailing culture. If we can understand the simple, and the complex it would be something...but we don't understand "simple" communication, so perhaps communication is more instinctive than complex. We understand humans because we are doing a human thing. Squid communicate and understand light/color, which is complex but instinctive to them. (Some European thought saw language as a divine gift, like a skill, rather than something we do on instinct. IF I'm right, language is complex but hard to interpret for non-human minds...like try describing music or sound to a deaf person, or color to a blind human? How would a squid communicate a magnetic field to a human using chromatophores?) Sorry for the nerd philosophy :p (it's a fun topic to hypothesize over)

[@EnriqueVarelaJr]

I love this channel, ever since you started, the production value and research is second to none. Keep it up.

[@johnwt7333]

You know "second to none" means "bad; lacking; not there", right?

[@johnwt7333]

@@KevinEpix as a native speaker I don't need to

[@johnwt7333]

@@KevinEpix you're comment was deleted by KZbin's algorithm

[@johnwt7333]

@@eumesmo4058 the first is incorrect, I said "as a native speaker I don't need to", you forgot the "I". What's wrong with the second?

[@eumesmo4058]

Corrected, thanks for pointing that out. Nvm, I will delete the comment. The video itself is more important than trolling people around

[@olemanshavadoo7893]

For those who don’t know how decibels work every 3 dB doubles how loud the sound is. So if human ears burst at 150 dB to get over 200 you have to double that loudness about 18 times. That is frightening.

[@goodun2974]

Having spent over 50 years working in the audio electronics field I can tell you that what you wrote is completely incorrect. 3dB is the smallest amount of volume change that the ear can easily detect. Doubling the volume would require the sound intensity to about 10 dB louder.

[@ccselmo9363]

Deep in the darkest depths of the ocean, where no light shines and most animals have never experienced light. *shines a giant flashlight down there*

[@layzyliam8360]

Been addicted to and binge watching "the insane biology of" series, amazing documentary, editing and script. Keep up the incredible work! 💯 Support from Australia.

[@zeekthegeek4538]

Crickey mate, you're from the outback too? Love those dang rat bush fires ammirite or ammirite y'all.

[@JB-bm1to]

Same here. I originally found this channel and would put it on to go to sleep. Now I just get stoned and learn new stuff instead of sleeping.

[@Innomen]

That's amazing that they've never yelled any of us to death. Given how completely annoying and monstrous people can be. It's hard for me not to parse that as incredible mercy and tolerance, like they don't even get frustrated with us. I occasionally yell at my cat, and I deeply love the little bastard. You'd think they'd have at least done it by accident once. Truly amazing. And I also must say I'd be scared to dive with one knowing that it can just basically maim me at will from any direction.

[@OtterFederationClub]

Depending on their hunting "grounds", sperm whales have adopted different hunting techniques: a study has confirmed that, for example, whales in the arctic sea actively chase their prey, emitting extremely fast sequences of clicks once they're close to the prey and they usually dive 400 to 600 meters. They're really fascinating creatures and I can't wait for new discoveries on their lifestyle and complex communication!

[@KendrixTermina]

Being able to communicate with your baby at a long distance seems so useful! I sure wished my mom had skills like that when I was babysitting my sister xD that way she could calm her down while she's fetching groceries.

[@2424Lars]

I love that you did an episode on sperm whales, they're such intriguing animals! The idea that they spend most of their lives in the pitch-black deep ocean hunting illusive giant squids has always been quite haunting to me, considering they are mammals like us

[@c.shannon3914]

A much of that time is spent in a huge life or death battle with the giant squids. You can see the scars, and even the tentacles ripped off the squid but still attached to the whale. It's really crazy to think about what's going on down there.

[@vegetaking1272]

@@c.shannon3914 To me it’s crazy that they even hunt those huge squids. I mean why do they love to eat giant squids or much? Is it bcuz it’s the thrill of the hunt & or is it bcuz it’s just good as hell? Lol. I do eat squids, it’s not bad at all.

[@tumppu8570]

@@c.shannon3914 i don’t think an adult sperm whale has ever been killed by a squid though.

[@c.shannon3914]

@@tumppu8570 maybe not a full grown adult and the squids can and will gang up and drown them also.

[@c.shannon3914]

@@vegetaking1272 no squid or calamari taste good. They est squid because that's what they have evolved to eat. That's why they can dive like they do and have teeth like that. Most large whales are baleen whales and are filter feeders.

[@CoolPandaTheMovieNerd]

I was vacationing in Mexico a few months ago, and I got to free dive 30 feet down and get a close look to one taking a rest at the bottom surface 60 feet deep. Most amazing thing ever.

[@terramater]

That are so many fascinating aspects of sperm whales! Our crew filmed a groundbreaking project that aims to use AI models to decode whale communication. As you guys mentioned, they have huge brains and complex social behaviour, but they spend most of their time in the deep sea. Could AI help us understand their complex behaviour, their complex sounds, and what they are doing in the deep sea? We're excited to see the outcome of this technology and confident that we will soon learn even more about the minds of sperm whales.

[@realscience]

That's amazing! We recently spoke with some of the researchers on that project, and the possibility of getting even a glimpse of their minds is so profoundly exciting!

[@dayaninikhaton]

I heard of this project, I think through John Godier, the scifi writer on his channel. Its believed if we can decode one of the cetacean languages, it could give tremendous insight into an alien first contact situation.

[@argonaught5666]

That is fascinating. I wonder about AI though because I think a whales 'world view' would be so different than ours that it would be totally alien to us and AI that is programmed by us. Even as interaction between different human cultures, as much as we have in common, were not understood by the various parties. Take Europeans and Native Americans for instance. The thinking and world views were so far apart that they just couldn't see each other as 'same'. So to grasp some understanding of the inner workings of the brain of another creature entirely would be exceptionally challenging. Good luck with the project though. To even get a glimpse would be fascinating!

[@mariyam1511]

​@@argonaught5666 exactly ✨

[@boohoo5419]

thats so dumb.. either you have no clue about actual AI or you are just bad at your work. this didnt make any sense and is really shitty science. you dont have any samples to let the AI learn. that would mean you already understand the communication. you cant tag the samples and AI is complete useless then. but what did i expect this whole video was trash.. AI isnt some magic you can throw at stuff!

[@TheSixStringGuy]

Just found this channel and I am blown away, I love the narrators voice and the explanation of everything, the editing and diagrams all perfect. Wish they had vids like this when I was in school. Liked and subscribed!

[@Sir_raptor]

This seemed eerily similar to those whales in the latest Avatar film. Maybe James Cameron took inspiration from these whales only. They being hunted in the film similar to real life for centuries for Oil in brain, their ability to communicate, their intelligence, but still being peaceful to humans, all these things are very close to real life. I don't think I would have been able to appreciate these creatures this much without watching the Avatar film. Thank god these whales survived centuries of hunting, otherwise we would have never known such intelligent creatures, which may be found out to be sentient existed alongside us in this planet.

[@michealvargo7002]

Imagine hearing a sound that's below our hearing range, but loud enough to make you go deaf Silence: 🐋 Silence intensifies:

[@WanderTheNomad]

Deafness would be the least of our problems. We would probably skip that step and go straight into organ failure or something and then die.

[@TARS..]

It would most probably feel like when the bass at a concert makes your stomach and heart pound but becoming stronger and painful.

[@Whoami691]

It's loud enough to rupture the tissue in our brains. It actually causes us to hemmorage.

[@pamela-623]

the adaptations animals have for extreme environments never cease to blow my mind

[@jollyjokress3852]

Evolution of millions of yrs. We are about to kill off so many species that have evolved over such long time periods.

[@MizantropMan]

We only ever see the ones that managed to adapt over millions of years of random mutations.

[@ShubhamSingh-mn7yj]

If you guys want to read more about whale vocalizations or how scientists are creating methods to communicate with whales - try reading "How to speak Whales". The author is the same person who appears at the end of the video, after he was almost crushed to death by a Humpback whale breach (Jumping out of water). That's one heck of a book to read.

[@carrier2823]

saw all the sources and stuff in the description and realized you brought on a researcher to speak directly with you and suddenly realized I had to subscribe. Well done

[@jshumphress13]

I like how the dads are like "nah family life isn't for me. I am going to go hang out with my bros. Peace out."

[@apocryphalshepherd]

And then only comes back when it's time for an orgy

[@joncrow3228]

You’ve got a fundamental misunderstanding of nitrogen narcosis. It’s from breathing PRESSURIZED air. If you’re not breathing pressurized air (or gas mixes), the amount of nitrogen in your body remains the same and only the nitrogen in the lungs can be absorbed. The bubbles they found in them was caused by the volume of the Navy sonar, which can boil water with their sound volume.

[@YIO777]

That's what I was thinking. I recently watched something about sonar that showed how truly loud it can be and was theorized to be responsible for the mass deaths of cetaceans that we see on shores.

[@garethbaus5471]

Squishy bodied animals naturally have the air in their lungs compressed when they dive, free divers have the same problems as scuba divers at extreme depths. Plus the bubbles that could be created by sonar wouldn't persist in autopsies.

[@YIO777]

@@garethbaus5471 Interesting. I wonder, if any soft tissue damage would be apparent?

[@garethbaus5471]

@@YIO777 If the sound is sufficiently loud enough you can get ruptured organs and other fairly obvious soft tissue damage especially at short range. Sonar is ridiculously loud, but at the distance it would have to be from diving cetaceans the damage would probably be limited to ruptured eardrums at the worst.

[@downey2294]

that doesn't make sense either. what good is sonar if it boils water. it would be like talking through your phone while there is a typhoon active.

[@adampetten1009]

These whales are super smart, we've found them in deep water anout 1 km. They use to eat fish out of our nets and had teeth marks on the fish. Thier clicks mess up the depth sounders as the frequency is very close, makes them easy to find if you were looking for them. We've also seen one eat a Greenland shark.

[@Trgn]

Being smart is a curse, probably why they commit ritual pack suicide on beaches. Being constantly tortured by oncean noise and sonar probly driven them insane.

[@woah5016]

Wow. Spotting a greenland shark is by itself a very rare sighting.

[@ESW206]

Yeah I heard they made EV vehicles

[@d1ssolv3r]

Eating a shark whole sounds..unique

[@Chewbaccafruit]

I love the idea of cetaceans having culture, as a thought experiment. Maybe they have their own story of Moby Dick, the white ghost who struck back at the mysterious floating fortresses that hunted them down. Their own avenging angel.

[@louielouie684]

Imagine we truly start to communicate with whales via Ai and they have their moment of justice with mankind.

[@UtahBodycam]

I love this channel, ever since you started, the production value and research is second to none. Keep it up ....!!! The adaptations animals have for extreme environments never cease to blow my mind

[@Alexscofi]

They fricken outsmarted us when we were trying to hunt them? That's mindblowing...

[@HHGLowBob]

Regarding death by sperm whale German biologist Robert Mark Lehmann told in one of his videos about a freediver who died. He said the freediver got inbetween two fighting bulls and had her organs ruptur fataly. I like your videos, thanks for your great Work👍

[@amouramarie]

Aw, that's awful if that's the case. :( Cetaceans understand a lot, like dolphins being fascinated with pregnant divers. I wonder if the bulls noticed/understood what happened to their visitor while they were fighting.

[@HHGLowBob]

@@amouramarie Probably we'll never know but it wasn't an attack but an unlucky diving accident.

[@latheofheaven1017]

I imagine the sperm whales who died with the bends after that US Navy exercise, were probably ascending too quickly out of fear.

[@realscience]

yes that is the leading hypothesis :( so sad

[@oldcowbb]

we are the noisy neighbor that keep blasting loud music into someone's house

[@rubend9391]

@@oldcowbb foreign language music

[@willfriar8054]

There's no concentration of nitrogen in one breath. That's why freedivers can take one breath go down almost 200 ft and come back up without binds. Wheels aren't using compressed air

[@jainin7682]

Actually probably pain. Those sonic experiments were incredibly high decibles.. I liken it to those people jumped from the burning world trade center. They knew they would die, but probably felt certain that the sound would kill them anyway (for all we know it just might have) it must have been as unbearable as the heat and smoke of a burning skyscraper.😪

[@byronic-heroine]

Whale: hello Human diver: OH GOD I'M DYING

[@JM-gj7de]

Had no idea that Sperm whales slept vertically. Mind = blown

[@magnuslunzer2335]

Talking with animals that are way more distantly related to us than apes would be one of the biggest goals achieved in the history of science EVER.

[@downey2294]

Why?

[@magnuslunzer2335]

@@downey2294 Because they must have a very different way of thinking. It would also extremly help us to understand how communication in general works

[@jw-ws8dz]

there might be some serious breakthroughs in linguistics

[@gamingwhilebroken2355]

@@magnuslunzer2335 FYI, we never learned to “speak” with the other great apes either. Nearly every expert, that wasn’t attached to the projects, agrees that the gorillas and chimps that “learned” sign language didn’t learn sign language. They learned to mimic signs, but that’s it. Now don’t get me wrong that’s still impressive, but it’s not language. Basically, the only candidates left for a species besides us having a language are a couple of cetaceans and (if I remember correctly) a species of corvids. But even those are generally considered to be, “maybe, but probably not.” The reason we are (edit: are not as quick) as quick to say they don’t have language is because they are so dissimilar to us that their language may be much harder to detect.

[@earthling_parth]

Sperm whales are truly fascinating! I learned so much from this video. Thank you to the team of Real science for researching and sharing this information ♥️

[@HkFinn83]

While I agree that sperm whales - and of course all animals - are fascinating, there are some very dubious claims made in this video. Be wary of taking things on the internet at face value. Especially some of these slickly produced educational videos.

[@jinc2461]

@@HkFinn83 what are the dubious claims made in this video? I am interested to know.

[@HkFinn83]

@@jinc2461 first thing stated in the video. There are ‘scientists’ who believe sperm whales have ‘more complex’ language than humans? There is no serious person who believes such a thing. They have a range of vocalisations that are possibly used in communication. Totally different thing to ‘language’ in relation to linguistics. Btw this isn’t just a mistake imo, it’s calculated. These pop science media sources have a number of hot topics they know drive engagement, one of them being anything that implies animals are incredibly similar to people in a fantastical way; Koko the talking gorilla, horses that can do math etc

[@Anonymoususer78913]

@@HkFinn83 explain

[@tylersmith9868]

Wow your the first person I've ever seen spent money on a KZbin comment

I love the custom music for this video! Its a great idea and the soundtrack really lights up the story with emotions. Looking forward to hear more in future videos!

[@BookTimeWithRyan]

I’ve read the spermaceti is likely more for communication, and less about buoyancy (heating it back up wouldn’t be efficient). Sperm whales are just amazing.

[@easyethanol6611]

Just saw a doc that showed tracking of them hunting. Their clicks get really fast right before they catch their prey and then stops right after until it starts looking for something else and as it gets closer it again speeds up again to strike.

[@Jutte777]

I used to work on a fishing boat in an area that had sperm whales. Tourist boats that went out to see the whales always came over to our boat when were were dropping (or pulling up ) our nets (set at 400 fathoms).I used to wonder why they did that - until I heard a recording of a sperm whale search/hunting clicks. Our net roller had a lump of weld on it and it clicked every time it went around - at the same spacing as the whale recording. We thought it was hilarious - the tourist operators never did work it out. I think the whales had a good laugh about it as well- as they were pretty chill around our boat.

[@joshuaespinoza8325]

now i imagine a sci-fi subnautica type show that takes place like 100 years into the future. but instead of focusing around space travel, its people socializing with marine mammals. orcas, sperm whales, dolphins, etc.

[@maciekzajac4745]

This was Real Science's best episode and one of the best videos ever uploaded to YT, hands down.

[@chappie__]

Its good to know that after some quality time with the fam, the lads always know they can go chill with each other 😂

[@veganjotaro]

Hahaha right just like humans.

[@jhnyjoejoe69]

The fact there's so many of them even after the big hunting means there are even more giant squids down there sustaining their population.

[@indyreno2933]

The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the only extant member of its genus and the family Physeteridae, it is also one of the only three extant members of the superfamily Physeteroidea, the others are the pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) and the dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima), which are both the only two extant members of their genus and a distinct family (Kogiidae).

[@occasionalbuddha8649]

Extremely well done and absolutely fascinating! Thank you! I've long been haunted by the idea of the suffering of these intelligent animals at the hands of humans for short-term, commercial gain.

[@Listeningtomuzak]

Don’t you ever wonder how often aquatic mammals drown? Like a sperm whale could get in a lengthy fight with a squid when it was time to leave the sea floor and not resurface in time.

[@jesseschwab1813]

"A language more sophisticated than our own?" Are they composing click-click Shakespearean sonnets about how a squid by any other name tastes as sweet?

[@makaylaenjoli4350]

they used to be able to hear each other much farther away but the noise of human ships and such have made it more difficult for them

[@thexxEdogxx]

“The male Sperm whale normally leaves his family and goes to live a more solitary life, these were thought to be the most lonely creatures alive. Recent discoveries however, prove that they are really just hanging out with other male friends!!“ sperm whales ain’t no simps, they just like hanging out with the fellas.

[@starstorm1267]

It’s not that they’re simps, it’s that females and their calves form matriarchal pods with strong everlasting relationships. Males will form what’s called “bachelor herds” in their youth but then start living more solitary lives in their later years once they start competing among eachother for mating rights. They will return to herds and pods occasionally however to socialize and/or breed.

[@byronic-heroine]

They all went out for a carton of squid ink.

[@cacatr4495]

@@starstorm1267 In many ways, and in their social structure, whales are much like elephants.

[@willemvandebeek]

Again what an incredible video, thank you for not just showing the facts, but also showing what is still unknown yet.

[@porudoryu]

While it is exciting to think about humans becoming an interplanetary species, we still have much to learn about the mysteries of our own oceans, including the possibility of using AI to decipher the language of cetaceans, which may be the closest thing we will ever experience of encountering intelligent life. Great content guys.

[@tabalt7119]

I think another thing that's super interesting about sperm whales is their ancestors. Currently, sperm whales are unique. There aren't other predatory whales like them. But in the past the ocean was filled with whales like sperm whales, which I think is super cool.

[@Mare_Man]

Dolphins, porpoises, and beaked whales are also toothed whales. Sperm whales are just the biggest ones

[@artysanmobile]

The cover photo of this video is one of the most amazing photos I’ve ever seen. I can imagine the thrill of witnessing that firsthand.

[@iez]

4:20 considering Archimedes principle, im not sure why this would make the whales sink unless the solidification also causes the whale to have a smaller volume/displace less water.

[@danishnande9629]

If it significantly changes the density of the tissue it should work.

[@Leto_0]

The cavity must also fill with water, otherwise the change in density would be canceled out by an air pocket

[@marcdheere134]

Indeed there is something missing

[@_Jess]

​@@Leto_0There's no air inside the skull to counteract the external pressure of the water, a reduction in the spermeceti's volume results in a void that simply collapses inwards. The soft tissues (i.e. skin and blubber) can sustain the deformation around the collapsing area if they're built for it. Imagine the experiment where you blow up a balloon inside another. Deflating the inside balloon (decreasing the melon's volume as it solidifies) will deflate the outer balloon as well, reducing its total volume as seen externally and of the displaced air (water).

[@_Jess]

You're imagining the skull as if it's a solid-shelled submarine, instead of an animal with pliable skin and tissue.

[@zacharywong483]

Fantastic video, as always, Real Science team! Great job!

[@nooberus9241]

Using machine learning to understand whales is the most mind blowing idea I heard in a long time! I hope that is one day a reality :D

[@Janehaver]

Ooh love this! I would love if there's a video on elephants. I've seen many in the southern Africa area (Namibia, Botswana, South Africa) and I've seen some distinct differences in behaviors/ personalities. Botswana is just amazing with its elephant populace.

[@oberlurch-handimations8628]

It would be so amazing to understand what whales are talking. Maybe they even tell tales and myths among each other. Perhaps sometime in the future we can read whale myths about heroic whales rescuing their clan from whalers

[@jazzling]

"bro no cap there's some fish just north that are tasty as fuck"

[@ArchTeryx00]

One of the examples of how sperm whale pods can closely coordinate is also fairly gross if you're not used to studying the animals. One of the key defenses a pod has against intruders is to basically all let their bowels go *at the same time,* releasing a giant cloud of... poop. And once caught up in it you aren't getting out without getting thoroughly messed up, by which time the whales have all booked it for the deep. There's footage out there of divers studying the whale pods that found out about this defensive behavior the hard way. So that raises the question: How do they coordinate that basic bodily function so closely? This video offers a tantalizing possibility: They *verbally* coordinate. They tell one another something's in the neighborhood that shouldn't be, ready a simple escape plan, and a click from whoever the matriarch is sets them all off at once. Great way of fending off sharks, orcas, or anything else that might be targeting their calves/smaller podmates/sick podmates/etc. And all done verbally!

[@JuanAndresLanza]

Well, I watch a TON of KZbin and hardly leave any feedback, but here it goes, I really liked this video, informative well constructed and edited, please keep them coming ! Subscribed already....

[@minoarno7415]

the thought of there potentially being a predator that hunts these is terrifying

[@ingridllinas5612]

A great video. We do have a better understanding about why these whales are able to dive so deep and how they’re internal organs function in order to dive as well to go back to the surface. It is true that quick ascending can cause a great deal of harm to these creatures as well as humans. Sonar exercises do have lots of consequences on whales death. The echolocation sounds are disturbing to human ear but it is the way they communicate. Indeed they are very social groups. When adults male leave their pod they get together with other males to explore, get mature and for breeding.

[@russellknight7729]

As usual, your research and editing are without equal and this vid is a complete joy to watch. Well done

[@thepilotman5378]

I watched on nebula with the field notes, amazing. I love this kind of stuff; this in particular reminds me of the movie: Arrival

[@MeatyZeeg]

You should do one on what we know of Giant Squid and their other favoured prey, Colossal Squid.

[@AshWill4L]

The way you weave these ads in is so smooth

[@jlux4481]

The vibration part, blew my mind

[@riskninja8194]

This is by far my favorite video you all have done! I would love you all to do a cat or cat species at some point!

[@whogoes_4113]

Could you please do a video on crocodiles?! They're truly amazing creatures too!

[@jonnyj.]

YES LETS GO!! I remember writing a comment a comment many months ago hoping you'll eventually do an episode on the sperm whale. Im so happy you covered my favourite animal :D Also, the vocalizations they make blew me away. The fact that their language could be as complex as ours is mindblowing. I didnt know about that till now :D

[@MaxBrix]

I love the enthusiasm!

[@infinitemonkey917]

@Alex The worse Aside from our big brains there is very little that is remarkable about human anatomy / physiology.

[@Carlos-fn2hl]

@@infinitemonkey917 It's almost disappointing how basic and non-remarkable our anatomy is.

[@infinitemonkey917]

@@Carlos-fn2hl Yea, but Ill take our extensive use of tools over extreme physical prowess. We're not bad at covering distance efficiently but that's about all I can think of.

[@Dell-ol6hb]

@@infinitemonkey917 I think there's quite a lot about human anatomy that is fascinating or remarkable it's just not as noticeable to most of us since we are ourselves humans so we sorta just take it for granted and think of ourselves as basic or "normal" (not to say that we are any more special than other animals ofc)

[@UltimateLizard331]

To think they use their teeth as lures to attract squid is actually so fuckin cool

[@paulinemegson8519]

That was just an idea. No one has ever proven that that’s what happens.

[@jerijayz3929]

Amazing. Seems as if it was from the Curiosity Stream. I love this,. Very informative, never heard before. Approved

[@chrismuz]

Wow, so many cool facts! - Sperm whales: 1. have the largest brains in the animal kingdom (up to 9kg > human men 1,4kg) 2. are highly social (the adult males less so) 3. are louder than any other animal by far (up to 236 db; our ear drums burst at 150 db; their clicks can be heard from hundreds of miles away) 4. live from the poles to the equator, i.e. everywhere in the sea 5. spent 90% of their time in the (up to 3km) deep 6. eat mainly Giant Squids for a living 7. only have teeth on their lower jaw 8. sleep in a vertical position.

[@Kevan808]

I've always wondered how they got their name, sperm whale. Thanks for the explanation 👍🏼

[@OutrageIsNow]

Humans are so mean. They cut open the first whale and were like “yo his head’s full of cum”

[@bettafish3083]

I love this channel I always am so excited when I see an insane biology. Great job keep it up

[@sakabaniya9725]

Your content are example of best content in youtube for free..keep it up

[@tonistark4169]

They look like Stonehenge while sleeping. Fascinating!!

[@KappaHunter]

Wow, I love these videos! Learning the complexity of biology just goes to show how impossible the theory of evolution is. Just amazing.

[@MonCappy]

I find myself having a really disturbing observation when hearing about sperm whale communication. It almost sounds like sperm whales might be people. People large than buses, but people still. If that is the case, then killing a sperm whale is essentially murder. So yes. Definitely disturbing. All things considered, it would be deeply ironic if the first sapient life we discover in the cosmos is right here on Earth.

[@AngryDad.]

No

[@DaveMiller2]

I have read about scientists who think the Orcas might be as intelligent or more intelligent than us. Other whales might be people too.

[@AngryDad.]

@@DaveMiller2 nah

[@nathans45]

Humanity butchered whales on an unprecedented level. If whales are sapient, the hunting of whales is the single worst genocide in history

[@planetphatness]

Pretty sure murder is defined by specifically killing another human.

[@seanbrennan5192]

Yeah this video is like Nat Geo level quality. So fascinating, well done

[@Dell-ol6hb]

Sperm whales are one of my favorite animals they are just such fascinating animals

[@ottnielsanabria2726]

I love the massive understanding you’re work gives me. The way it is pure knowledge and the way it keeps me wondering and understanding more and more the way these amazing animals thrive in our world. Please ohhhhh please please would you put out something like this for humpback whales??? I’d love to understand more about these animals! Please do humpbacks I’d love to know more about them

[@apjtv2540]

It's something remarkable that not only has nature evolved a language even more complicated than ours, but it's a language that also has the potential for being a cannon. Thank god we can't do that.

[@jisharagu]

1 minute ago? Man, this is mu lucky day. Time to consume one of the best content on the internet. Thaaaanks.

[@samhvidberg5612]

I would love to learn some of their language if we ever learn to understand it. Just learning another human language expands your perspective, an animal language would teach us more about how humans work.

[@ethans6539]

This channel is so great Im always amazed at the complexity and intelligence of everything in nature

[@forumboss2620]

Reading multiple analyses of Sperm whale capabilities, most experts say the max dive duration is “about 90 minutes” not two hours. I personally observed sperm whales in Kaikoura, New Zealand. They were typically diving for about 20-25 minutes.

[@paahl1572]

2:16 I just have to say: sperm whales are one of the coolest animals on earth. My god are they beautiful.

[@Medialover100]

This was an AMAZING show!! So informative & enjoyable. Please, please, please keep up the good work!

[@shwango2740]

I think it would be really cool if you made a video about researching techniques for marine animals. As a viewer I often hear that "not a lot is known about the deep sea" but it is hard to understand why. Why don't we just attach a bunch of sensors to a sperm whale to check what it does? I guess cameras don't make sense without light but maybe accelerometers/radar/ultrasound/whatever could provide more information. So why isn't this done?

[@leonmat26]

Because sending info underwater is very very hard and expensive. It is easier to receive satellite info than underwater one.

[@Roger-go6jc]

Beautiful doco. The more we find out about our animal kingdom, I feel we come closer to what our indigenous nations said all along- 'treat everything around you as your brothers and sisters'. Isn't it amazing to imagine the sperm whales in this way.

[@brycewortman1112]

Great video! As a diver I’m a little confused how sperm whales get the bends without breathing compressed air at depth. I’d love to see a video going more in depth on this phenomenon!

[@Melody_Raventress]

Whales sleeping like that is so eerie, can you imagine swimming among them when they're like that?

[@GHOST8799]

Awesome series! Just a couple questions Given that sound travels differently in water versus air, I wonder how comparably the decibel readings would be if they were normalized? Are all the vocalizations measures around the same decibel level or do they vary in range? Why are the vocalizations so loud? Does it allow for information/communication to be carried over a longer distance? Like if mum were communication with her calf not to follow as she dives deep.