Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What does it look like when a sperm whale is born? 🐋
Terra Mater sat down with David Gruber, marine biologist, President & Founder of Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative), to talk about one of the most extraordinary moments ever caught on camera: the first-ever filmed sperm whale birth.
In this episode of Not a Biologist, host Alex and David break down the incredible footage frame by frame: the mother (named Rounder) is helped by her family holding up the newborn whale, pilot whales arriving as unexpected witnesses, and one subadult male named Alan who showed up and did... not very much.
But this episode goes far beyond the birth itself. David explains what Project CETI has learned after six years of building the world's largest non-human communication database, millions of sperm whale vocalisations, codas and clicks, and what their groundbreaking AI-powered research is revealing about sperm whale language, culture and society.
Support Project CETI:
projectceti.org
And follow their Socials:
instagram.com/projectceti
linkedin.com/company/projectceti
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:uhfmjlgc5pzfg5e3k2skopz5
x.com/projectceti
🎙️ Not a Biologist is a Terra Mater Studios podcast where host Alex sits down with scientists and experts to break down the most fascinating wildlife behaviour on the planet using footage straight from our nature documentaries.
🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode!
🎬 Full episode + bonus content on Patreon: patreon.com/cw/TerraMater
Chapters:
00:00 Not A Biologist Episode 3 Starts Here!
00:55 Welcome David Gruber from Project CETI
01:51 The First-Ever Filmed Sperm Whale Birth
02:48 Check Out Our Patreon!
02:58 Let's Check out the Sperm Whales First Breath!
04:30 How was it to experience this rare Moment?
06:40 Sperm Whale Family Holding Baby over Water
08:17 How did the Scientists found out what is Happening
12:05 Sperm Whales communicate and have Accents!
14:05 How Similar is Sperm Whales Speech to Human Language?
18:40 Is Sperm Whale Speech (Codas) Learned?
21:26 Sperm Whale Babies are Very Playful and why thats Important
22:30 What is Project CETIs next Goal?
27:07 David's Most Memorable Whale Sound ever
28:47 Find the whole Conversation on our Patreon!
#spermwhale #projectceti #marinebiology #wildlifedocumentary #naturepodcast #oceanscience #whales #terramater #notabiologist #whalecommunication #wildlifescience #AnimalBehaviour #oceanlife #marinelife #naturedocumentary #underwaterworld
What does it look like when a sperm whale is born? 🐋
Terra Mater sat down with David Gruber, marine biologist, President & Founder of Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative), to talk about one of the most extraordinary moments ever caught on camera: the first-ever filmed sperm whale birth.
In this episode of Not a Biologist, host Alex and David break down the incredible footage frame by frame: the mother (named Rounder) is helped by her family holding up the newborn whale, pilot whales arriving as unexpected witnesses, and one subadult male named Alan who showed up and did... not very much.
But this episode goes far beyond the birth itself. David explains what Project CETI has learned after six years of building the world's largest non-human communication database, millions of sperm whale vocalisations, codas and clicks, and what their groundbreaking AI-powered research is revealing about sperm whale language, culture and society.
Support Project CETI:
projectceti.org
And follow their Socials:
instagram.com/projectceti
linkedin.com/company/projectceti
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:uhfmjlgc5pzfg5e3k2skopz5
x.com/projectceti
🎙️ Not a Biologist is a Terra Mater Studios podcast where host Alex sits down with scientists and experts to break down the most fascinating wildlife behaviour on the planet using footage straight from our nature documentaries.
🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode!
🎬 Full episode + bonus content on Patreon: patreon.com/cw/TerraMater
Chapters:
00:00 Not A Biologist Episode 3 Starts Here!
00:55 Welcome David Gruber from Project CETI
01:51 The First-Ever Filmed Sperm Whale Birth
02:48 Check Out Our Patreon!
02:58 Let's Check out the Sperm Whales First Breath!
04:30 How was it to experience this rare Moment?
06:40 Sperm Whale Family Holding Baby over Water
08:17 How did the Scientists found out what is Happening
12:05 Sperm Whales communicate and have Accents!
14:05 How Similar is Sperm Whales Speech to Human Language?
18:40 Is Sperm Whale Speech (Codas) Learned?
21:26 Sperm Whale Babies are Very Playful and why thats Important
22:30 What is Project CETIs next Goal?
27:07 David's Most Memorable Whale Sound ever
28:47 Find the whole Conversation on our Patreon!
#spermwhale #projectceti #marinebiology #wildlifedocumentary #naturepodcast #oceanscience #whales #terramater #notabiologist #whalecommunication #wildlifescience #AnimalBehaviour #oceanlife #marinelife #naturedocumentary #underwaterworld
