N.S. researcher spots first recorded case of an orca caring for another species’ baby

HALIFAX –

A Halifax-based biologist is part of a research team that has documented the first recorded case of an orca caring for the offspring of another species.

The team spotted a female orca — or killer whale — caring for a newborn long-finned pilot whale calf off Iceland when there were no other pilot whales nearby.

Elizabeth Zwamborn, a researcher at Dalhousie University, says the orca may have been trying to adopt the newborn pilot whale, as the orca has never been spotted with a calf of her own.

The team’s findings have been recently published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology, in the article “First account of apparent alloparental care of a long-finned pilot whale calf.”

The pilot whale calf was seen swimming in a “protected position” next to the killer whale in August 2021 on the western coast of Iceland.

Researchers say that while killer whales and long-finned pilot whales have similar social structures, the 2021 sighting was the first time scientists have recorded an orca caring for a pilot whale calf.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2023.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.