The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins“An astonishing, unconstrained exploration of the nature and practice of cetacean culture . . . a revolutionary book.” —Philip Hoare, author of The Whale In the songs and bubble feeding of humpback whales; in young killer whales learning to knock a seal from an ice floe in the same way their mother does; and in the use of sea sponges by the dolphins of Shark Bay, Australia, to protect their beaks while foraging for fish, we find clear examples of the transmission of information among cetaceans. Just as human cultures pass on languages and turns of phrase, tastes in food (and in how it is acquired), and modes of dress, could whales and dolphins have developed a culture of their very own? Unequivocally: yes. In The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins, cetacean biologists Hal Whitehead, who has spent much of his life on the ocean trying to understand whales, and Luke Rendell, whose research focuses on the evolution of social learning, open an astounding porthole onto the fascinating culture beneath the waves. As Whitehead and Rendell show, cetacean culture and its transmission are shaped by a blend of adaptations, innate sociality, and the unique environment in which whales and dolphins live. Drawing on their own research as well as a scientific literature as immense as the sea—including evolutionary biology, animal behavior, ecology, anthropology, psychology, and neuroscience—Whitehead and Rendell dive into realms both humbling and enlightening as they seek to define what cetacean culture is, why it exists, and what it means for the future of whales and dolphins. And, ultimately, what it means for our future, as well. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 10 | |
Chapter 3 Mammals of the Ocean | 45 |
Chapter 4 Song of the Whale | 67 |
Chapter 5 What the Dolphins Do | 98 |
Chapter 6 Mother Cultures of the Large Toothed Whales | 126 |
Chapter 7 How Do They Do It? | 162 |
Chapter 8 Is This Evidence for Culture? | 187 |
Chapter 10 Whale Culture and Whale Genes | 231 |
Ecosystems Individuals Stupidity and Conservation | 247 |
How We See Them and How We Treat Them | 269 |
This Book Came From and Is Built On | 303 |
Notes | 307 |
| 351 | |
| 399 | |
Chapter 9 How the Whales Got Culture | 213 |
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animals appear baleen whales beach behavior biologists birds blue whale bottlenose dolphins bowhead bowhead whales brains calf called calves captive cetacean culture chapter chimpanzees clans coda colleagues complex cooperative cultural evolution cultural transmission develop diversity eating echolocation ecological ecotypes elephants environment evidence evolutionary evolved example females fin whale fish foraging genes genetic groups habitat human culture humpback song humpback whale imitation important interactions kilometers Laland living lobtail males marine mammals mass strandings mating matrilineal matrilineal whales meters minke whales mother nonhuman culture observed ocean odontocetes Pacific patterns Payne perhaps phins pilot whales pinnipeds population potential predators prey range Rendell resident killer whales Richerson and Boyd right whales role scientists seals Shark Bay sing social learning societies sounds species sperm whales sponging tion toothed whales ture variation vocal whale culture whale song whales and dolphins Whitehead wild