Did an orca adopt an orphaned pilot whale calf?

The demeanour of the pair suggests this was indeed an adoption. The baby remained very close to the adult’s flank, swimming behind the flipper — this offers maximum protection to a calf and makes it easier for a baby to keep up with its mother

In August 2021, a newborn pilot whale calf swimming in echelon formation with a killer whale female. There were other members of the killer whale female’s pod around, but no other pilot whales. Picture: Marie Mrusczok /OrcaGuardians.org

‘They’re saps — because they risk their lives for strangers’ — Sonny in Godfather II

On August 12, 2021, whale expert Marie-Therèsé Mrusczok was aboard a tour-boat off the Snaefellsnes Peninsula in western Iceland. An orca with a calf was sighted. The pair seemed unremarkable until closer examination showed that this was no ordinary mother and child: the calf was far too small to be an orca’s, it lacked the characteristic white ‘eye-spot’ and the dorsal fin was sickle-shaped. Mrusczok identified the youngster as a pilot-whale. She, and colleagues, reflect on the sighting in a paper just published.