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Those scientists collected their data from the ocean surface. The findings showed that sperm whales around the world practice this vertical sleeping posture - but infrequently, spending only about 7 percent of their time asleep, which is less than any other mammal spends, according to the study. The animals were inactive and unresponsive, even when the scientists approached them in a boat, but all the whales awakened quickly and swam away when the boat brushed against one of them and woke it up, the study authors reported.įurther observations revealed that the sperm whales entered these sleeping states by first descending head-down to a depth several times that of their bodies, then passively turning head-up and drifting closer to the surface. Those scientists discovered the sleepers in the wild when their boat accidentally drifted into the pod of six whales bobbing just below the surface in waters off the coast of Chile. Toothed whales and dolphins in captivity exhibit very different sleeping behaviors from those of the napping sperm whales captive cetaceans have been observed sleeping with one hemisphere of their brains still active, so that they can swim and breathe voluntarily while at rest, the 2008 study authors wrote. "You have to look at where the sun is coming from and have the animal lit from the sun."Īnd if a photographer isn't in the right position to capture an elusive underwater moment, the subject may not stick around long enough to provide a second chance, Banfi added. "You have to use natural light," he said.