The Sagacious Sperm Whale?

A Royal Society paper analysed logbooks from nineteenth century ships, hunting Pacific Sperm whales (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/17/sperm-whales-in-19th-century-shared-ship-attack-information>). Only a few years after the start of whaling, the strike-rate of the harpooners fell by almost 60%. This was probably due to the whales changing their defensive behaviour. Their only serious predator, prior to whalers, were Orcas. The matriarchal Sperm whale pods used to form defensive circles, with their powerful tails pointed outwards. This, unfortunately, simply facilitated their slaughter by the whalers. The decline in the harpooner's success rates, seems a consequence of the whales abandoning their defensive circles. The whales also learned to swim up-wind, making it difficult for sailing boats to follow. The paper suggests the whales, used their sound communication systems, to pass information to other members of the pod. This rapid change of behaviour is an example of cultural learning (where the animal copies the actions of its companions). Life for the whales obviously became intolerable, when whalers started to use steam ships and grenade harpoons. These findings strongly support the view that Sperm whales are thinking/communicating animals. Whaling is a cruel response to them.