whale babysitting

When your parents go out do you have a favorite babysitter? Maybe it's your aunt who lets you stay up late, or perhaps it's the teenager next door who makes popcorn, but what about a whale for a babysitter?

Mother sperm whales like to eat squid that live deep in the ocean, too deep a dive to take along their kids. Scientists in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, have discovered that these kinds of whales form a babysitting co-op. The moms gather in a circle and watch over each other's calves. The moms not only babysit, but they also feed other calves protecting them from Killer Whales and other predators until their mother returns.