Even at birth, sperm whales break all records
for toothed whales. A baby can weigh more than
a ton. Fully grown bulls can reach a length of over
18 metres and weigh more than 40 tons. Sperm
whales are the largest toothed predator and have
the biggest brain of any animal. Despite these
impressive statistics, newborn sperm whales
remain relatively helpless. Unable to swim in the
first minutes of life, an infant sperm whale relies
on a group of females to help it enter the world.
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Five midwives floated the still-immobile
newborn to the surface to take its first breath,
while the mother, still weak from birthing,
watched from below. With every passing minute
the calf became increasingly mobile until soon it
could swim independently for short distances. I
heard its communication, which had a higher pitch
than the others, like the voice of a child.
To avoid disturbing the animals and this
wonderful, rarely witnessed event, I moved