Abstract
Here, we describe the epimeletic behavior of an adult Risso’s dolphin towards a deceased newborn calf of the same species across several days with photographs, acoustic monitoring, and video recordings. Boat-based observation surveys were conducted from April 2014 to October 2021 along the southern coast of Galicia (northwest Spain) as part of a longitudinal study on the ecology of cetacean species. On September 21, 2020, an adult Risso’s dolphin was observed carrying a dead newborn calf in coastal waters. This presumed mother was further sighted with her deceased calf on September 23 and 24 (20 km and 40 km from the first observation site, respectively) and with other adult individuals on September 30, probably after having lost or finally abandoned the carcass. The presumed mother supported the corpse for at least 5 days, which may have had potential consequences for the female health. As direct observations are scarce in the wild, this type of report provides valuable information to better document the occurrence of care-giving behavior in highly mobile marine top predators.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank all the BDRI staff members and students who assisted with field observations and data transcription and also thank the persons that provided information about the observation of the adult Risso’s dolphin carrying the deceased calf on September 23 and 24, 2020. Finally, the authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and the editor Emanuel Gonçalves for their constructive comments that helped improve the manuscript. Data collection complies with the current laws of Spain, the country in which it was performed. This research was conducted under various research permits, issued by the sub-directorate general for the protection of the sea in the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge.
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This research is part of a long-term study supported by the funding from the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute (www.thebdri.com).
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Séverine Methion and Bruno Díaz López obtained the funding, designed the study, and collected the data in the field. Olga Mosca assisted with the field data collection in 2020 and 2021. Séverine Methion analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. Bruno Díaz López and Olga Mosca reviewed the manuscript. Séverine Methion, Bruno Díaz López, and Olga Mosca read and approved the final manuscript.
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Methion, S., Mosca, O. & Díaz López, B. Epimeletic behavior in a free-ranging female Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus). acta ethol 26, 121–125 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-023-00417-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-023-00417-5