Sperm Whale Behaviors

Aerials

Jumping into the air with full or over half of its body exposed

Photo Credit: firmm.org

Tail Slapping

Forcefully slapping its tail flukes on the water's surface to produce a loud sound and large splash

Photo Credit: firmm.org

Pec Slapping

Slamming their pectoral flippers/fins against the water's surface (likely to communicate)

Photo Credit: Capt. Wendall Ettienne

Diving

Flukes often go straight up as they go down for a deep dive

Photo Credit: Capt. Wendall Ettienne

Nursing Calf

Photo Credit: Nature picture library (naturepl.com)

Spyhopping

Heads come straight up out of the water so they can look and listen above water. They are not forcefully splashing the water afterwards.

Adam U / NOAA/NMFS/Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Blog 2013 07 29, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Brought Food to the Surface

Prey items or pieces of prey items that the whale is still eating or has left at the surface of the water

Photo Credit: Nature picture library (naturepl.com)

Male Presence

Males- 15-18 m (49-59 ft)

Females- 11-12 m (33-40 ft)

Figure 1.1 in Würsig, B., Rich, J., & Orbach, D. N. (2023). Sex and behavior. In Sex in Cetaceans: Morphology, Behavior, and the Evolution of Sexual Strategies (pp. 1-27). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Logging/Resting on the surface

Floating almost motionless at the surface of the water

Photo Credit: alamy.com