Birth of a ‘Resident’ Killer Whale Off Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Observations of a western North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) birth offshore of the protected southeast U.S. critical habitat

“…Also in contrast to the right whale birth observed by Zani et al (2008), and those reported for a number of other cetaceans (false killer whales, Pseudorca crassidens , Notarbartalo‐di‐Sciara et al . 1997; killer whales, Orca orcinus , Stacey 1997, NARW, Zani et al 2008), Eg #2360 remained physically separated from her calf for approximately 3 min after its initial appearance at the surface. Thus, the calf surfaced unassisted and remained by itself before being joined by its mother.…”

First record of an unsuccessful parturition of a southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) at Península Valdés, Argentina

“…, Perrtree et al . ), U‐shaped and arched back body positions (Weilgart and Whitehead ), lurching and tail spasms (Leatherwood and Beach ), rotating (Stacey and Baird ), and shallow dives and tail slaps (Foley et al . ).…”

“…The umbilical cord of Tehuelche's calf was never observed during labor, an indication that the calf's body had not emerged very far. In cetaceans, mothers or other accompanying adults support or lift the newborn to the surface immediately after birth probably to facilitate breathing (Béland et al 1990, Notarbartolo-di-Sciara et al 1997, Stacey and Baird 1997, Perrtree et al 2016. Prolonged calf expulsion events during successful parturition have been reported for odontocetes in captivity, which lasted between 1 h and 1.57 h after first protrusion of the calf's tail (McBride and Kritzler 1951, Essapian 1963, Asper et al 1988).…”

“…Tehuelche's labor was different from other reported cases of mysticete births. In other cetaceans, mothers usually display distinct parturition behavior such as thrashing (Balcomb 1974, Zani et al 2008, Perrtree et al 2016), U-shaped and arched back body positions (Weilgart and Whitehead 1986), lurching and tail spasms (Leatherwood and Beach 1975), rotating (Stacey and Baird 1997), and shallow dives and tail slaps (Foley et al 2011). Although Tehuelche dove and slapped her tail during labor, she stayed completely belly up on at least three occasions and produced many loud blows, behavior patterns that have not been observed in other mysticete births reported to date.…”

Short Note: Observation of a Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Birth in the Coastal Waters of Sainte Marie Island, Madagascar

“…Observations and documented records of cetaceans' births are scarce; so far, births of six cetacean species have been reported in the wild: the killer whale (Orcinus orca) (Jacobsen, 1981;Stacy & Baird, 1997), sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) (Weilgart & Whitehead, 1986), beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) (Beland et al, 1990), false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) (Notarbartolo di Sciara et al, 1997), right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) (Zani et al, 2008), and gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) (Balcomb, 1974;Leatherwood & Beach, 1975;Mills & Mills, 1979). However, no observations of humpback whale births have been documented and very little is known about newborns and the behaviours associated with birth, despite the fact that this species is widely studied.…”