Whale family structure and its intricacy has been
the subject of much scholarship and study on the part
of biologists and those people who are just fascinated
by these beautiful and extremely intelligent mammals.
Their family structures are renowned for the complexity
of their arrangement, with the three main components
being the bull, the cow and her calf.
Whales are known for their intelligence and sublime
behavioral patterns. It should not be a surprise, then,
that whales place a great deal of importance on how
the family structure is arranged. Known as a pod, typical
whale families expect that each individual member will
help contribute to the overall success of the pod.
The manner in which whales organize themselves into
family units demonstrates their extreme sociability
and helps to illustrate how each whale demonstrates
a sense of responsibility to every other whale in the
family structure. There actually seems to be much evidence
of whales demonstrating actual insight, each with something
once thought of as being the exclusive province of humans.
Whales will also tend to segregate themselves in a pod
according to their age and sex. Cows and calves tend
to travel along in pods of up to 30 members, protected
and watched over by a dominant bull whale. Those cows
in the pod that do not have calves of their own to watch
over will act as midwives to cows that are pregnant
or nursing after giving birth.
Additionally, cows without their own calves also will
act as babysitters for mothers of other camps, especially
when those mothers are off feeding or somewhere else.
As far as how long calves remain with their mothers,
it's not unheard of for them to be by their side for
six or more years. In some whale species, that number
can be doubled very easily.
When it comes to whale family structure, these pods
or societies are very complex and endlessly fascinating.
Male bulls watch over their pod while other male whales
tend to travel slightly separate from the major pod.
It goes almost without saying that this structure makes
the whale family among some of the most interesting
groupings in the world.
Whale
family structure and its intricacy has been the
subject of much scholarship and study on the part of
biologists and those people who are just fascinated
by these beautiful and extremely intelligent mammals.
Their family structures are renowned for the complexity
of their arrangement, with the three main components
being the bull, the cow and her calf.
About the Author
Frankie White has been studying whales
for nearly fifty years and is fascinated by the whales
family structure.
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