A document from a page of a scientific publication, the Journal of Mammalogy. It features short notes on various zoological topics. One being An observation by Robert Cushman Murphy regarding the discovery of seal bristles inside a sample of ambergris, suggesting sperm whales may feed on phocid seal
Posted by chocolate_cooper@reddit | whales | View on Reddit | 7 comments
Emotional_Flight575@reddit
The ambergris angle makes this interesting, but I’d still be cautious about jumping from “seal bristles present” to “regularly hunts seals.” Ambergris can accumulate over long periods, and contamination or secondary ingestion is hard to rule out, especially with older samples. That said, occasional mammal predation doesn’t seem biologically impossible at all. Sperm whales have the size, bite force, and diving overlap with seals, and we already know their diet is more flexible than just squid, it’s just that direct observations are almost nonexistent.
chocolate_cooper@reddit (OP)
I don't think it's a regular thing, more like that specific population hunted seals and possibly other marine mammals in the area. It is possibly clan specific and possibly a rare but nutritional meal the whales took up
Complete-Physics3155@reddit
Tbh not surprising, pretty sure we have multiple reports of sperm whales being found with large fish in their bellies, including one with multiple juvenile basking sharks in its gut, as such, I don't see why they wouldn't be able to hunt small mammals at least occasionally
TesseractToo@reddit
Does that mean they think they can digest bone? I'd be wary of one outlying sample, especially that age in that they weren't as careful with samples then
chocolate_cooper@reddit (OP)
It would seem so, I wouldn't put it past them as their ancestors and close relatives were smaller mammal hunting sperm whales, most of which are fragmentary and shattered. Seal and sperm whales both hunt in the deep ocean and sperm whales do have the capabilities to eat a seal, it's all a matter of us again never seeing them hunt these animals as it all happens in the deep dark abyss. There's also the fact that the population that did this can also be extinct like many other clans during the heavy whaling era
TesseractToo@reddit
Yeah but wouldn't there be a lot more evidence from whaling days than one anomalous piece of ambergris? They would have a couple hungred years of stomach contents from whaling so if they ate seals it would have been common knowledge
chocolate_cooper@reddit (OP)
Thing is this is probably population based as where this was found is a place with high mammal density in the ocean. It's literally likely the pod that lives there specializes in mammals much like some orcas do. This makes sense as even now not all sperm whale populations average around the same size, with populations being vastly larger than others. This indicates they are eating different types of food to sustain these sizes and eating it in abundance. Strange stuff like Greenland, blue, and mako sharks have been found inside the stomachs of other whale populations too in places those potential prey animals frequent