A lot of the time, we humans like to consider ourselves unique, evolved, and somewhat separate from our animal cousins. We, however, have a lot more in common than we think. While our culture has historically had a negative attitude towards homosexuality, for over 1,500 species of animal, homosexual behavior is natural. Cetaceans (i.e., whales, dolphins, and porpoises) in particular have been recorded expressing an entire spectrum of queer behaviors. This group of species are considered more emotionally intelligent than humans, suggesting that their thoughts and emotions are more complex and developed than our own. Which leads to the question – what can whales tell us about human queer identities?

The Anti-Nuclear Family

While the Spice Girls may have coined the term Girl Power in the late 1990s, whales have been living this slogan since time immemorial. A society led by ‘single’ females is one that may be unconventional to us yet is traditional beneath the waves. Matrilineal social structures, where females are head of the family and a male’s main contribution is reproduction, is standard across many species of cetacean. Back when Northern Resident killer whale C1 (Namu) was accidentally captured in nets in British Columbia in the 1960s, and subsequently transported to Seattle aquarium in a floating sea pen, the media considered the whales following Namu to be his wife and children. In fact, these whales were his mom and siblings. Some of the first people to study killer whales also thought that pods were led by the largest male in the group (i.e., patriarchal), when in fact these males are in fact largely dependent on their moms for their whole lives. Whale families are more akin to human family structures led by single moms, lesbian moms, or moms raising their kids with a village of family and friends. There is something to be said about the world’s most emotionally evolved species being led by females.

‘Bromances’ and ‘Gal Pals’

As a lesbian, I have been victim of the ‘friends’ or ‘sisters’ generalization when my wife and I are doing something as basic as renewing our health cards or going out for dinner. This human bias also translates to the underwater world of whales. Killer whales typically stay with their moms their whole lives, but sometimes, male whales are seen outside of their immediate family group. There are instances of two or more male, adult killer whales travelling and associating with each other for years, like shark-eating Port with Starboard off South Africa, T128 (Flotsam) with T125A (Jetsam) in the Northeast Pacific, and W001 (John Coe) with W008 (Aquarius) off the west coast of Scotland. Whether these whales are together through circumstance (i.e., roommates) or more (i.e., lovers), these associations are typically labelled ‘brothers’ or ‘friends’. Similarly, female sperm whales are considered to form life-long friendships with other females. They are even known to share the equivalent of ‘inside jokes’ through unique dialects across generations, redefining our human standards of BFFs. As this species is deep diving, we as humans only get to observe this species for the brief moments they are at the surface, meaning there could be a lot more going on between these besties than meets the eye.

From assumptions to observations, whilst captivity limits the ability of whales to exhibit natural behaviors, it’s one benefit is the ability to observe whales up close and personal – for science. Lesbian sex between killer whales has been observed in captivity, and whilst the reason behind this behavior is not 100% confirmed, some scientists have suggested that same-sex genital contact in female dolphins is driven by their ability to feel pleasure via their evolved clitorises. Females however are not alone in this. Homosexual behaviors are more commonly observed between male whales (maybe because it is more obvious…). In western Australia, male bottlenose dolphins regularly take part in sexual contact with other males to strengthen long-term alliances and maintain social structure. Bottlenose dolphins off western UK waters have also been reported to exhibit similar behavior. Dolphins, however, are not alone in this. Humpback whales were in the news recently for exhibiting the same behavior off the coast of Hawaii. The first time that sex between two humpback whales was photographed and it happened to be between two male whales. Similarly, male killer whale ‘bachelor’ groups have been observed rubbing body parts together, including their “sea snakes”. Whilst we can only attribute physical sexual observations to whales due to the limitations of field research and our understanding, it is possible that whales exhibit more than sexually-driven attraction for the same-sex. Female humpback whales have previously been recorded singing (usually a trait exclusive to male whales) during the breeding season. Whether this is because the whale wanted to deter nearby male whales, attract a female, or because the whale identified as a male – we will never know.

It’s in Their DNA

An important part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ rainbow includes the ‘I’ – intersex individuals. As well as being born with sex characteristics that are not “typical” for male or female bodies, they are also more likely to identify as queer than non-intersex people. For humans, there is a general lack of research for intersex-identifying individuals, so it is no surprise that there is similarly an incomplete understanding in the world of whales. One of the earliest observations in cetaceans was of an intersex fin whale back in the 1960s, and in recent years, there have been numerous additional observations of wild intersex whales including common dolphins, beaked whales, beluga whales, and southern right whales. The era of DNA-based assessment of whales has driven the discovery of intersex individuals, showing that in cetaceans, intersex is more common than historically thought. Suites of DNA tests, when used in parallel, essentially show that XXY or XYY are possible variations of sex chromosomes instead of being considered ‘anomalies’ through a heteronormative lens. In my own research, we use these exact tools to try and figure out the sex of wild whales from the DNA they leave behind in their ‘wake’ – i.e., flukeprints. While this approach can tell us if the DNA signature is male or female (sometimes with ambiguous results), I am often left wondering how the animals perceive and identify themselves. Lastly, in the whale research world, if we do not know the sex of a whale we are monitoring, most refer to them as they/them – the singular pronoun. Gender-neutral pronouns exist in the animal world as they do in the human world and using them is really not that difficult.

So, there it is. A light-hearted look at the queer lives of whales and how it makes us think more about what it means to be in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. I of course caveat with the above as daring to look through a non-heteronormative lens (at the risk of anthropomorphizing), to get you thinking about how our queer identities are not all that different from our animal cousins. In fact, it is natural and should be celebrated as part of the diversity of life.

 

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About the Author

Dr. Chloe Robinson (she/they) is a scientist, conservationist, and science communicator. She currently holds the position of Advisor & Technical Lead for the Whales Initiative at Ocean Wise, where she leads conservation programs aimed at protecting vulnerable whale species. As a scientist, they primarily focus on developing and implementing environmental DNA-based approaches for closing data gaps on whales and their prey, having published 25+ peer-reviewed articles on the application of non-invasive methods for monitoring biodiversity. As a conservationist, she leads the Whale Report Alert System (WRAS), which reduces the risk of ship strike for large whale species across the west coast of North America. As a science communicator, she has won awards for their contributions to public engagement and science dissemination. She identifies as a gender non-conforming lesbian and a passionate advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in science. They have spearheaded initiatives such as a workshop series at the University of Guelph to increase 2SLGBTQIA+ visibility in STEM, a Pride seminar series at Swansea University, and the annual Big Gay Whale Watch on Vancouver Island. Chloe considers themself lucky to be an uninvited settler living, working, and playing on traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) peoples (“Victoria’, Canada), where she lives with their wife, son, cats, and many whale neighbours.

Hydrothermal Vents Found in the Icy Depths of the Remote South Sandwich Islands 

An Ocean Census Flagship expedition and GoSouth team of scientists found suspected new species, discovered one of the island chain’s shallowest hydrothermal vents, and explored the deepest trench in the Southern Ocean. 

Palo Alto, CA, USA — An international team of scientists on a recent 35-day deep-sea expedition to one of the most remote island chains in the world observed thriving polar ecosystems, discovered new hydrothermal vents, coral gardens, and many suspected new species. The Ocean Census Flagship expedition aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) explored the South Sandwich Islands, including one of the coldest and most isolated submarine trenches on the planet, and also found evidence of explosive volcanism. This was the same expedition that filmed the first confirmed sighting of a juvenile colossal squid.

The expedition was part of the Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census program, the world’s largest initiative to accelerate the discovery of ocean life. The Ocean Census scientists led the species discovery efforts, uncovering a wide range of potentially new marine life — including corals, sponges, snails, sea urchins, benthic ctenophores, and sea stars. The exact number of new species will be announced later this year following an Ocean Census workshop, where taxonomic experts will formally assess and catalog the findings. The GoSouth team — a collaboration between the University of Plymouth (UK), GEOMAR (Germany), and the British Antarctic Survey (UK) — investigated the effects of geohazards, including tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquakes.

“This expedition has given us a glimpse into one of the most remote and biologically rich parts of our ocean. This is exactly why the Ocean Census exists — to accelerate our understanding of ocean life before it’s too late,” said Dr. Michelle Taylor, head of science and expedition principal investigator at the Ocean Census, and senior lecturer at the University of Essex. “The 35 days at sea were an exciting rollercoaster of scientific discovery; the implications of which will be felt for many years to come as discoveries filter into management action.”

Mother Nature threw everything she had at the expedition, said Taylor, including a subsea earthquake, tropical storm force winds with hurricane-level gusts, eight-meter (26-foot) waves, and icebergs to navigate.

Located in the South Atlantic, the South Sandwich Islands are part of a rich mosaic of geologic features such as hadal zone trenches, underwater volcanoes, and spreading centers — features created by tectonic forces that have supported the evolution of species found nowhere else on the planet. It took eight days for the research vessel to travel to the islands from the port of Punta Arenas, Chile.

The GoSouth team, led by Co-Chief Scientist Dr. Jenny Gales, discovered two pockmarks in the mapping data of an underwater caldera — a bowl-shaped depression in the seafloor, left after a volcano erupts. Pockmarks can indicate hydrothermal activity. Using a “nested” approach, the team deployed Schmidt Ocean Institute’s remotely operated vehicle, SuBastian to map the pockmarks at a higher resolution and confirm the presence of vents.

The larger pockmark contained three hydrothermal vents, and the smaller contained one. Located at 700 meters depth (nearly 2300 feet), they are one of the shallowest hydrothermal vents to have been discovered near the South Sandwich Islands, and the only ones to be explored using a remotely operated vehicle. The tallest vent chimney was four meters (13 feet), making it about as tall as a basketball hoop. Each vent was covered with an array of life dependent on chemosynthesis, including sea snails and barnacles. Thriving coral gardens and large sponges were found in close proximity to the vents — an unusual observation, said Taylor.

“Discovering these hydrothermal vents was a magical moment, as they have never been seen here before,” said Gales, an associate professor in Ocean Exploration at the University of Plymouth (UK). “It’s an incredible discovery that provides valuable insights into the area’s tectonic activity. Making such a discovery is rare. It highlights the importance of ocean exploration and seafloor mapping.”

In addition to the vents, other notable observations during the expedition included:

• In the trench, scientists found snailfish eggs that had been laid on a black coral, as well as a potential new sea cucumber species;
• large pumice blocks, indicating that the South Sandwich Islands are capable of explosive volcanism; 
• a vibrant coral garden located west of Saunders Island at a depth of 120 meters (394 feet); 
• Capturing the first footage of Akarotaxis aff. gouldae, a species of dragonfish that was discovered two years ago.

“The challenging ocean and weather conditions and the isolated location of the South Sandwich Islands capture the imagination of the boldest explorers — often the closest humans to the vessel were on the International Space Station,” said Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Executive Director, Dr. Jyotika Virmani. “We are proud to have collaborated with Ocean Census in their mission to advance the discovery of marine life and GoSouth in their quest to better understand the geological nature of this dynamic corner of the world.” 

Image Credit: Jialing Cai / The Nippon Foundation – Nekton Ocean Census / Schmidt Ocean Institute

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About the Organizations:

April 24th was Massachusetts Right Whale Day. A vertical puff of water vapor split the air on that bright, calm day in Cape Cod Bay off Provincetown’s Wood End Lighthouse. The V-shaped blow is not visible because the whale is positioned broadside to us. Most baleen whales have narrower spouts. With no dorsal fin and a brief glimpse of broad flukes—the whale’s tail—confirms the presence of a right whale, approximately 50 feet long.

Right whales are so rare that whale-watching vessels must stay at least 500 yards, or 1,500 feet, away so as not to disturb them. Right whales are like icebergs in freshwater, with most of their bodies hidden underwater. We watched the magnificent mammals from a distance.

Two right whales worked the shore along Herring Cove. Herring gulls showed no interest in the whales as they followed the fishing boat, heading for the harbor with the morning’s catch. Right whales eat zooplankton, straining small animals that drift in the water column with six-foot-long cartilage plates hanging down from the roof of the whale’s mouth. Hairs on baleen form a fine mesh that traps zooplankton inside, where the whale’s tongue, the size of a BMW Smart car, swipes and swallows.

A pair of right whales swim in synchronization, turning and rolling onto their right side to elevate the left side of their flukes above the water. A third whale follows closely behind the twisting whales.

Today, the whales are likely eating shoals of Calanus copepods that are corralled between them and the steeply rising shore. We saw between 12 and 17 right whales from Race Point, with its lighthouse, to Long Point, which has a lighthouse at the tip of the sandy finger at the end of the raised arm known as Cape Cod.

Further offshore from Herring Cove, a slim, long whale with a sharply curved dorsal fin blows, wheels, and dives. With many decades of experience, the whale-watch boat captain maneuvers closer and stops the engine as a second sei whale surfaces. Reaching as much as 60 feet, sei whales are the third largest whale in the world, preceded by blue and fin whales. Sei is Norwegian for pollack fish, as they were often seen together. 

The two dark, bluish-gray whales settle beneath the water beside the boat, the white of their undersides visible as they roll onto their sides. The roqual grooves along their pleated chin and cheeks distend. Still in the water, these whales let the plankton float into their mouths, or so we think, as we cannot see any plankton in the dark waters. They rose to breathe after a few minutes, which seemed to our astonishment like an eternity.

The first humpback whales of the season are found north of Race Point. Low in the water, they appear to be lounging about, perhaps taking it easy after a morning of feeding on sand lance. Last week, I found the pencil-thin fish on the Herring Cove beach, likely dropped by a gull. 

A humpback whale lies below the surface with its blowholes and dorsal fin above the water. To the right, a second whale stirs the water that laps over its back. 

The boat floats by the two humpback whales. Looking through the water, we see the whale’s 15-foot-long white flipper.  The scientific name for humpback whales is Megaptera novaeangliae, meaning large-winged New Englander.

We are startled to see a second flipper looming white beneath the whale. A third whale is stealthily poised directly below the whale on the surface.  When we saw two whales on the surface, there were really four humpbacks, surfacing two by two.

Later, all four whales were on the surface nearly at once. One rolled on its side to reach an enormous flipper to the sky. The narrator assured us that the whale was not waving. Whales slap the water to communicate with more distant whales, but there were no slapping sounds today.     

The whales slowly drifted beneath our vessel, revealing their entire outlines from above. Here, the tail fluke can be seen while the head and flippers are on the other side of the boat. The whales moved beneath us, from left to right and then from right to left, four times!

Finally, a humpback whale lifted its tail before diving. The black and white pattern on the underside was recognized as belonging to the female humpback named Habanero for the appearance of a chili pepper mark. Habanero is well known to the Dolphin Fleet of whale watch vessels. Habanero was observed with a calf in September 2012.  A second humpback was identified as Candlestick. The other two humpbacks never showed their tails.

Returning to the harbor, the right whales continued to forage along the shoreline. These whales are called urban whales because they come near our urban shores more often than others. Right whales do not migrate, except for females that give birth off Savannah and Jacksonville. The newborns have little blubber and require warm water. However, these clear waters offer little food. Therefore, right whales travel to Cape Cod Bay for the abundant shoals of zooplankton. They may stay for six weeks before spreading out across the North Atlantic.

Lobstermen do not trap during April and May along Massachusetts’ sandy shores and boat traffic consists of smaller vessels alert to right whales. The greatest threat to right whale survival is the diminishing availability of food. Our pollutants have caused phytoplankton productivity to drop by 60% since 2000. Copepods now have less fat content, requiring whales to consume more to obtain the same nutritional value.  

What we are doing to the land is harmful. We have crossed a tipping point by removing vegetation and soil, which hard surfaces and urbanization have replaced. There are cascading negative consequences. Boston’s annual rainfall is a steady 46.4 inches a year, yet, destructive stormwater and combined sewer overflows are rising because we have removed the vegetation and the soil carbon sponge.

Water that once soaked into the ground now washes across heat islands. It warms up and transports heat to the ocean. The year 2023 was not an exceptionally hot summer for Boston but it was the wettest summer since 1955. This resulted in a record warming of the Gulf of Maine surface waters nearest to Boston. While 2021 was Boston’s hottest summer, the surface ocean water did not experience significant warming.

Nutrients spilled into the sea fuel harmful algal blooms and ocean dead zones.  The ten-fold increase in the use of the herbicide Roundup since 1996, when Monsanto developed crops resistant to glyphosate, is likely more than coincidental to the loss of phytoplankton.

The solution to the threat to the ocean ecosystems on which whales depend lies on land. Land should be granted the right to retain the rainwater that falls upon it. Developers should not be permitted to profit from their constructions while leaving the municipality responsible for managing increased stormwater, likely leaving people in the flood zone standing in CSO sewage. 

The dry land heats up worsening climate change when developers starve the land of water.  Property owners must instead slow water down, return it to the ground where plants may draw to photosynthesize during the dry season, where groundwater may recharge rivers, and with water in the ground to prevent forest fires. Let’s improve the whale’s marine ecosystem with no more pollution, stormwater damage, and ocean heating from the land.

Returning past Race Point, a right whale raised its head high out of the water. Gray baleen plates hung beneath a white, encrusted black upper lip. In doing so, I don’t know what advantage was gained by the whale. I took it as a smile, as my smile was no less broad.

Nearly fifty years ago, on April 15, 1976, I was on the first Dolphin Fleet whale watch. We saw right whales and a humpback whale that the boat captain’s son would later name Salt when he became the boat captain. Since then, Salt has birthed 12 calves and is the grandmother of seven more humpback whales. There were then estimated to be 350 right whales. Today’s estimate is 372 whales, not including the ten calves born last winter.

I was on the first commercial whale watch because two summers earlier, I was alone on the deck of a 27-foot sailboat, south of Seguin Light off the coast of Maine. A right whale surfaced next to the boat. I babbled, having never imagined that something alive could be the size of a sandbar. The whale left only a circular slick spot on the water for the rest of the crew to see.

We are fortunate to be in the company of whales, which grace our sandy shores for about six weeks in spring. The loss of vegetation and soil on our properties and in neighborhoods is harming the marine ecosystem on which right whales depend to break their winter fast. To ensure future generations can share the ocean with a burgeoning right whale population, we must increase the carbon sponge on our land and stop stormwater runoff.  

Breathe. Wheel. Flukes up. Dive. Swim on, whales! 

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Dr. Rob Moir is a nationally recognized and award-winning environmentalist. He is the president and executive director of the Ocean River Institute, a nonprofit based in Cambridge, MA, that provides expertise, services, resources, and information not readily available on a localized level to support the efforts of environmental organizations. Please visit www.oceanriver.org for more information.

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More from Dr. Rob Moir

• Methane-Eating Bacteria & Archaea Saving Earth from the Ravages of Climate Change (and cattle burps)
• The Sultans of Swag Versus Looking at Clouds from Both Sides Now
• Restoring The Climate with Native Plants and Deeper Soils
• Hope for Right Whales
• Cooling the Gulf of Maine Surface Ocean Waters
• Touch the Earth Lightly, Use the Earth Gently
• Easter Island, Hard Work & Good Cheer for a Changing Climate-Challenged World
• Cooling Our Planet: New England’s Battle with Climate Change
• Land & Sea Change for Earth Day, Expanding The Climate Change Narrative
• The Earth and Three Blinkered Scientists
• Fallen Forests and Rising Ocean Fury
• What If There Was a Right Whale National Marine Sanctuary?
• Atlantic Ocean off Florida Spawns a Giant Sargassum Blob Due to Climate Change & Nutrient Pollution
• Emerald Bracelets to Solve Three of the World’s Greatest Environmental Problems
• Slowing Water for Greener Neighborhoods
• Put Down the Federal Stick to Build a Greener Future
• Of Mousy & Elephantine Cycles, Managing The Climate Crisis After Glasgow COP26
• Melting Greenland Ice Sheet, Sea Ice Formation, and the Flow of The Gulf Stream
• A Whale of a Pattern of Thought and Organizing Principle for Community-Based Environmental Management