Humpback Whales May Learn New Feeding Behaviors Through Social Interactions

Humpback whales are some of the most intelligent animals in the world. Now, researchers have found another reason why they deserve our attentions. The whales may be able to communicate, teach and learn new behaviors from others through socialization, a controversial claim in the realm of cetaceans.

Scientists examined a group of humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine. More specifically, they looked at a pattern of feeding habits displayed by this group, known as "lobtail" feeding. This behavior, which was first recorded in Maine in 1980, is a slightly different take on bubble-net feeding.

Bubble-net feeding occurs when a whale blows bubbles into a net-shaped formation around its prey. This corals them into dense schools, and then the whale takes advantage by lunging up through the large pile of prey while scooping up mouthfuls. Lobtail feeding, in contrast, occurs when the whale slaps the surface of the water one to four times with the underside of its tail. It then dives down and blows the bubble net; the technique potentially keeps the fish from jumping out of the water and away from the whale.

The two techniques are intrinsically connected to the fish populations available to the humpback. Historically, the whales ate herring. Yet around 1980, the herring population experienced a severe drop. Due to this sudden decline, humpbacks turned to sand lances, another type of fish, for their food. It's at this point that lobtailing began.

In order to track the spread of lobtail feeding, the researchers combined data on fisheries stocks with a sampling of a long-term dataset (1980-2000) on humpback whale observations, according to National Geographic. They found that not only did the use of lobtail feeding increase with peaks in sand lance populations, but also that the behavior mirrored the loose social connections among the whales. This means that the whales were learning from one another.

The study shows that it may be possible that whales could demonstrate social learning, and that the cetaceans may indeed be able to possess "culture." However, more research is necessary before scientists conclude that social learning occurs among whales.

The findings were published in the journal Science.