The researchers aren't sure yet why exactly, but the whales do seem to be having a good time.
And two centuries after the Essex met its whale-induced demise, researchers have now confirmed headbutting is actually a thing for sperm whales., is the first systematic documentation of headbutting activity in sperm whales.
. Scientists had hypothesized about this behavior before, with a good amount of anecdotal evidence on whales pushing and striking objects with their heads. Researchers, led by Alec Burslem of the University of Hawaii, now confirm that young whales do headbutt each other—for whatever reason—but the team will need more data to draw any conclusions.The new study presents three drone-based observations of “headbutting and head-first contact” between young sperm whales living near the Azores and Balearic archipelagos, located west of Portugal. The drone footage, collected between 2020 and 2022, was then subjected to qualitative analysis. During assessment, the team noted each whale’s physical features, like size and sex, and evaluated whether certain contact behavior constituted headbutting. The whales were also tagged with audio trackers for a separate project, so the team also had data to determine whether the whales communicated among themselves before and after the headbutting.A scene from the video depicting two whales headbutting each other. © Burslem et al., 2026 The recordings resulted in some fascinating insights. First—and most fascinatingly—headbutting appears to be a recurring behavior, at least for the sperm whales living in this area. Second, headbutting doesn’t seem like something large adult males do to assert dominance, which had been hypothesized in the past, according to aThe audio tags indicated the whales were exchanging rapid clicks and codas that “suggest a background of social interaction,” with each bump varying from “mild to considerable” in strength, the paper noted.As is typically the case with animal behavior studies, the team has yet to determine the exact reason behind whale headbutting. Although these particular observations refute the idea that headbutting is limited to adult males, it’s still possible that this “rough play between immature animals” is a sort of rehearsal for similar actions between competing adults, according to the study. That said, we simply don’t have enough data. But the team believes the latest results demonstrate the potential of drone footage in capturing elusive animal behavior without disturbing nature too much. Oh, and Burslem isn’t just talking about footage from scientists’ drones. “If there are people out there with similar footage, we would be very keen to hear from them,” he said in the statement. “It’s exciting to think about what as-yet unseen behaviors we may soon uncover, as well as how more headbutting observations may help us to shed light on the functions the behavior may serve.”9:30 amAuthorities Investigating Gruesome Death of Whale Found on a Ship in New JerseyA detailed investigation into these strange creatures is finally giving scientists and fishermen valuable clues about when and where they strike.Gayoung Lee
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First-of-its-kind video confirms sperm whales really do headbuttLaura is a science news writer, covering a wide variety of subjects, but she is particularly fascinated by all things aquatic, paleontology, nanotechnology, and exploring how science influences daily life. Laura is a proud former resident of the New Jersey shore, a competitive swimmer, and a fierce defender of the Oxford comma.
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