Play Behavior by a Juvenile Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) with an Inanimate Object (Driftwood) in the Gulf of Tribugá, Colombia

Abstract

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are a cosmopolitan species that often visit inshore waters close to the coast, making it easier to see and study them. Consequently, this baleen whale has been researched the most, particularly in Colombia. In Aug 2020, ongoing cetacean monitoring was performed by a group of trained fishermen from the Gulf of Tribuga as part of a community science program implemented by the R&E Ocean Community Conservation Foundation as a contingency plan for monitoring marine mammals in the area during COVID-19 lockdown. As a result of these observations of play behavior, the scope of knowledge regarding the social dynamics, developmental processes, flexibility, and cognitive abilities of cetaceans has been expanded.