Humpback Whales Learn New Tricks By Watching Their Friends
Humpback Whale Lunge Feeding Courtesy of Jennifer Allen/Whale Center of New EnglandBehaviors are spread through cultural transmission in animals other than humans and non-human primates. There are a lot of ways to make a grilled cheese sandwich, but you probably make yours the same way your mom did. Or maybe you picked up a habit from your roommate, and how you slice diagonally instead of down the center. Whatever you do is not innate or instinctive, it's learned--it's a cultural tradition, however mundane. Apparently, humans (and other primates) are not alone in this. Whales have multiple cultural traditions, too. Humpback whales mimic their fellows' novel feeding strategies, passing them on to new generations, according to a new analysis. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it's one of only a few examples of non-primates using this type of learning, called cultural transmission. Humpbacks are maintaining and sharing cultural traditions they...