A note from mother nature. Turns that when a whale is born a group of adults have to cooperate to life the baby up to the surface so that it can start to breath. It also turns out that in sperm whales the birth assistants are not necessarily genetic kin, but more like found family. Here is the abstract. Never underestimate the complexity of animal behavior.

“We …document a sperm whale birth event, revealing collective support behaviors across kinship lines. Using high-resolution drone footage, computer vision, and multiscale network analysis, we studied the interactions within a Caribbean sperm whale unit comprising two matrilines.[a line of descent traced exclusively through the female ancestors.] Our results suggest that a female family member led birth assistance and that after delivery, all individuals oriented toward and helped lift the newborn, taking turns in a coordinated, cross-kin effort. Despite historically observed foraging segregation, kinship barriers dissolved as all unit members contributed. These analyses provide evidence of birth attendance, or assistance, in a nonprimate species, a behavior long considered characteristic only of humans and their close relatives.”

Source: Alaa Maalouf et al., Cooperation by non-kin during birth underpins sperm whale social complexity.Science391,1355-1360(2026).DOI:doi.org/10.1126/science…