A Note on Suckling Behavior and Laterality in Nursing Humpback Whale Calves from Underwater Observations

Nursing in large baleen whales and specifically the humpback whale is not well documented and difficult to capture in real time. Using underwater video documentation techniques, we collected digital video footage of humpback whale nursing events. From this, we provide an enhanced descriptive account of humpback whale suckling and recorded milk in the water near a nursing mother and calf column for the first time. As part of our investigation into nursing behaviors, we assessed if humpback calves demonstrated any patterns of laterality during nursing events. A pattern of laterality was noted in that all suckling events had a right side bias. Nursing bouts were short and intermittent, which coincides with what is known of larger terrestrial mammals such as the African elephant and other baleen whales. These shorter nursing periods are likely are due to the energetics of baleen whale milk coupled with the calf′s short respiration cycle before it has to return to the surface to breathe. Our study shows that underwater observations in marine mammal science provide valuable insight into real time events not easily accessible from vessel or aerial platforms