Cooperative interactions have been argued to be a powerful factor mediating the evolution of lateralization in animals. Mother−infant asymmetric spatial relationships represent a case of social coordination among organisms. Although lateralized interactions between mothers and infants have been found in beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), whether this is the case in other cetaceans remains unknown. The current study investigated mother–infant spatial laterality, more specifically, the lateral biases in an infant’s position near its mother in wild orcas, Orcinus orca. Distances between the research boat and whales were categorized into three groups to test the influence of a potential threat on laterality expression. Observations on travelling individually identified mother–infant pairs showed group–level preference for the infant to be on the mother’s right side when far from the boat. This bias reversed at close distance. At an intermediate distance, no significant bias was found, but if only the cases of
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1225-1231
JournalAnimal Behaviour
Volume86
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013

    Research areas

  • boat approach, calf position, fear response, killer whale, laterality in cetaceans, lateralization, mother−infant interactions, right hemisphere, social laterality

ID: 7378468