As cetaceans are lacking hair covering their skin, it is more open to cuts and abrasions than the skin of other mammals, leading to a high level of visible scars. In cetaceans, these scars remain white or unpigmented and can be caused by a wide variety of injuries such as accidents, parasites, predators or intraspecific fights (McCann, 1974). These scars are particularly common in cetaceans of the Odontocete family (toothed whales), which the sperm whale belongs to.
Whether you’re a marine enthusiast, a biologist, or simply curious about these ocean giants, discover the stories etched into the skin of the sperm whale and gain a deeper understanding of their fascinating existence.
![Rafael Martins | Detailed photo of a Sperm Whale with the mouth open at surface](https://www.futurismo.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rafael-Martins_Sao-miguel_sperm-whales_Rabo-de-peixe_august_2022_5-scaled-1-1024x682.jpg)
Scars from intraspecific fighting
In sperm whales, it is known that some scars, often arranged in parallel, come from intraspecific fighting between males. These scars are perceived as an indicator of male “quality” (MacLeod, 1998).
Sperm whale’s preys, consisting mainly in cephalopods. So they do not require the use of teeth, which allowed them to evolve as weapons for fighting. This results in an increased importance in signalling quality. And helps to avoid risks of escalating aggressive encounters between unevenly matched individuals (MacLeod, 1998).
These scars start to appear around the time of maturity. They indicate age, with older and larger animals more heavily scarred (Kato, 1984). These individuals have so many scars that they overlap each other.
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Scars from giant squid suckers
On the other hand, circular scars belong to fights with sperm whales’ main prey: the giant squid. This circular pattern belongs to the strong suckers that line the arms and tentacles of the squid.
![Rafael Martins | Great detail photo of a Sperm Whale near the coast of São Miguel island, Azores](https://www.futurismo.pt/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Rafael-Martins_sperm-whlae_mr-Liable_rabo-de-peixe_coast_25_august_3-1024x576.jpg)
In dealing with these enormous cephalopods, it is suspected that they use its head to pummel them, after grasping them with the jaws, which causes the tentacles to be impressed on the facial region of the sperm whale (McCann, 1974).
Scars’ use in photoidentification
It is unknown if these scars have any effect in the social structure of sperm whales, but for us, they are extremely useful for our photoidentification work.
![](https://www.futurismo.pt/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Sao-Miguel_Scientific-Research_IMG_6104-002-1024x683.jpg)
Photoidentification allows us to know the number of individuals in a group, to study the life cycle of the animals and to know the different groups surrounding the Azores.
✨ Related articles: Is the Fin Whale endangered? | Sperm Whale diet | Sperm Whale’s scars | Whale Watching in Azores: When is the best time? | What does a whale penis look like? | What does whale milk taste like?
Conclusion
When you see sperm whales resting in the surface of the water, they might seem gentle giants, but the scars in their bodies tell us a very different story, they are actually great fighters!
Definitely, scars make these animals much more identity, which also helps us to know them better by photoID and complete our catalog of sperm whales in the archipelago!
References
- Kato, H. (1984). Observation of tooth scars on the head of male sperm whale, as an
indication of intra-sexual fighting. Sci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst. Tokyo 35: 39±46 - MacLeod, C. D. (1998). Intraspecific scarring in odontocete cetaceans: an indicator of male
‘quality’in aggressive social interactions?. Journal of Zoology, 244(1), 71-77. - McCann, Charles. (1974). Body scarring on Cetacea-odontocetes