Overview
- The study, led by Alec Burslem and published in Marine Mammal Science, uses drone footage to verify that sperm whales ram other whales with their heads.
- Researchers recorded three head‑ramming events between 2020 and 2022 near the Azores and the Balearic Islands, capturing impacts head‑to‑head and head‑to‑torso.
- The whales involved were young males rather than full‑grown bulls, including one case where two juveniles displayed erections and one struck a nearby female.
- The function remains unclear, with scientists weighing play or practice for male competition against social aggression that could push maturing males out of family groups.
- Drone imaging, tags, and underwater microphones are reshaping whale research, adding hard data to old accounts such as the Essex incident that inspired Moby‑Dick, while models suggest the head’s internal structures can withstand the forces involved.