There are only two audiovisual recordings in the world that show the intimate moment of a whale feeding its calf. The first was recorded years ago in the waters off Hawaii. The most recent photo was taken in August 2022 in the Gulf of Cupica near the Colombian city of Bahía Solano in Chocó and was presented to the public this week at Explora Park in Medellín. The never-before-seen images of a humpback whale and its suckling calf open up new scenarios for scientific research, help raise awareness in communities of the need to protect ecosystems, and last but not least serve as an input and tool for shaping public Conservation guidelines over 40 years of research on these whales.
Natalia Botero Acosta, a University of Antioquia biologist, graduate student in animal behavior and neuroscience at the University of Southern Mississippi, and one of the researchers who recorded the exact timing of lactation, describes the observations in the video as follows: “We see , as the calf descends to its mother after surfacing to breathe. It stimulates the whale’s genital area, the breast slits, and it sticks to its mother to nurse,” he explains in an interview with EL PAÍS. In this sequence, which lasts about a minute, you can see how the milk is distributed in the water. At the end, the nearly 900-pound little calf returns to the surface to breathe. “It is interesting to see the mother’s position when breastfeeding. It is passive, almost immobile, with outstretched pectoral fins and extremely slow movements; he just gets carried away by the current,” adds the scientist, who is part of the Macuáticos Colombia Foundation, one of the organizations that led the research project.
A whale and its calf in the Gulf of Cupica, Chocó department (Colombia), August 2022.
The images of the video, taken in the recently declared Tribugá-Cupica-Baudó Biosphere Reserve, were captured thanks to state-of-the-art multi-sensor devices that stick to the whale’s back like a kind of jacket. Inside the capsule, which is attached to the animal, are cameras, thermometers, microphones and many other tools to analyze the health and behavior of the world’s largest mammals. Mar Palanca Gascón, biologist from the University of Valencia (Spain), master’s degree in evolutionary biology and co-founder of the scientific tourism platform Madre Agua, who was also involved in the project, tells how these devices allow detailed monitoring of cetaceans. “We were able to delve into the intimacy of animal life that otherwise would not have been possible. We experienced a unique moment.” Palanca Gascón explains that when the whales come close to the boat to breathe, they put the capsule on them. The devices remain attached to the animal for 15 to 20 hours, then are released, hover and transmit a GPS signal for scientists to locate and examine the data.
The two scientists agree on the emotions they felt when they first saw the images of breastfeeding. “I was totally amazed, speechless,” remembers Botero. The researcher explains that despite the fact that the humpback whale is the most studied whale species in the world, many questions about its life remain unanswered. “There are behaviors of this whale that are still a mystery to science. For example, male-female copulation, childbirth and lactation.” Thousands of humpback whales come to the waters of the Colombian Pacific every year to do just those three things. “This is where the reproductive functions of this species take place: fertilization, parturition and a crucial part of raising the young,” read a statement from Parque Explora in Medellín.
That’s why this short video is so important for researching the species. Palanca Gascón believes that in addition to their scientific value, the images will also have an impact on populations living near whale transit areas. “This audiovisual recording is having a huge impact on people’s behavior and helping them take care of whale ecosystems. “It’s not the same as saying that humpback whales give birth on the shores where you live than seeing the intimate act of suckling the pups on video,” explains the Spanish scientist.
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After extended periods of industrial hunting in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the numbers of this species have gradually recovered in recent years. “It’s true that hunting these animals is now banned, but there are other factors that affect the whales.” endanger the protection of whales and their ecosystems, says the biologist.
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