The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins

November 24, 2014
Biologists Whitehead and Rendell write that “culture is a flow of information moving from animal to animal,” and evolutionary biologist John Maynard Smith called culture “the most important modification” of gene-based evolutionary theory. Humans, though arguably the masters of culture, are not the only species that has it. Dolphins, as the authors reveal, create signature whistles and can mimic and remember others’ even 20 years later. They can also learn tail-walking in captivity and then teach it in the wild. Whales possess dialects that change in a way that can only be explained as the result of learning. And both whales and dolphins behave in “obviously altruistic” ways. Dolphins and whales have saved humans stranded at sea, and humpback whales have been observed saving seals from killer whales. “We suspect that a sophisticated capacity for culture has been adaptive for many millions of years in the ocean,” write the authors, “ never translated into an engine for generating the awesome body of accumulated skills, knowledge, and materials that characterize human culture.” Whitehead and Rendell deeply analyze the importance of culture to evolution, exploring what can be learned from animals that are perhaps more advanced than humans before pushing “off to sea again, where there is still so much to learn.”

January 1, 2015

Whitehead (biology, Dalhousie Univ.; Sperm Whales) and Rendell (biology, Univ. of St. Andrews) cover cetacean culture from its earliest beginnings to the present day. The authors include research they completed as well as some from other scientists to discover that cetaceans communicate by adapting to the unique environment in which they live, investigating the broad concepts of culture, community, and social learning before applying them to whales and dolphins. Also discussed are the implications of the creatures' culture as it relates to ecosystems and conservation and the future of the cetacean world, including what it bodes for humans. An extensive set of endnotes and a robust bibliography are included. VERDICT A captivating book for readers of all levels, from curious laypeople to scientists. Some science knowledge is helpful but not necessary. Recommended for both undergraduate and graduate students; researchers; and scholars studying biology, zoology, and veterinary science; and anyone interested in learning about animal behavior.--Tina Chan, SUNY Oswego

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