Dear fellow MARMAMers!

We would like to inform you about an interesting observation we made last August off La Gomera (Canary Islands, Spain). During a short encounter with short-finned pilot whales (Gl. macrorhynchus) we observed an adult animal carrying what appeared to be a dead juvenile (judged from the relative size of adult and the dead animal). A more detailed description of this sighting and some images can be seen at the following website:
http://m-e-e-r.de/index.php?id=559&L=2

While supporting behaviour has been observed many times in the past, this type of behaviour mostly is directed towards dead cetacean calves, rather than older conspecifics, the latter having been documented only very rarely (some references are given below).

We hence would like to know if someone has made similar observations before, either with pilot whales or other cetacean species.
We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Best greetings to all of you,
Fabian Ritter

Some references on epimeletic/supporting behaviour in cetaceans:

Caldwell, M.C. and D.K. Caldwell. 1966. Epimeletic (care-giving) behavior in Cetacea. In: K.S. Norris (ed.): Whales, Dolphins and Propoises. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles.

Cockcroft, V.G. and W. Sauer. 1990. Observed and inferred epimeletic (nurturant) behaviour in bottlenose dolphins. Aquatic Mammals 16.1, 31-32.

Harzen, S. and M.E. Dos Santos. 1992. Three encounters with wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) carrying dead calves. Aquatic Mammals 18.2, 49-55.

Fertl, D. and A. Schiro. 1994. Carrying of dead calves by free-ranging Texas bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Aquatic Mammals 20.1, 53-56.

Lodi, L. 1992. Epimeletic behavior of free-ranging rough-toothed dolphins, Steno bredanensis, from Brazil. Marine Mammal Science 8, 284-287.

Ritter, F. 2007. BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES OF ROUGH-TOOTHED DOLPHINS TO A DEAD NEWBORN CALF. Marine Mammal Science, 23(2): 429-433

Fulgencio de Moura, da Silva Rodrigues and Salvatore Siciliano, 2008. Epimeletic behaviour in rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) on the east coast of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. JMBA2 - Biodiversity Records.

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Fabian Ritter
-President-

M.E.E.R. e.V.
Bundesallee 123
D-12161 Berlin

T/F: (0)30-644 97 230
e-Mail: ritter@m-e-e-r.de

www.m-e-e-r.org

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The dolphins were having a great relaxed time 
and there were no major answers they wished 
to know the questions to...
(After Douglas Adams)

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