Sperm whale research program, The Dominica Sperm Whale Project, has been in operation since 2005. The introduction of plastic waste to the ocean environment by humans is new. Sperm whales have occasionally been found with pieces of plastic in their stomachs. Sperm whale The sperm whale ("Physeter macrocephalus") or cachalot is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of genus Physeter and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus "Kogia". The sperm whale is a pelagic
Mammal at approximately the ⅔ or ¾ exponent of the body mass. Comparison of a particular animal's brain size with the expected brain size based on such allometric analysis provides an [[encephalization quotient|encephalisation quotient]] that can be used as another indication of animal intelligence. [[Sperm whale]]s have the largest brain mass of any animal on earth, averaging and in mature males. [[Self-awareness]] appears to be a sign of abstract thinking. Self-awareness, although not well-defined, is believed to be a precursor to more advanced processes such as [[metacognition|metacognitive reasoning]]. The traditional method for measuring this is the [[mirror test]], which determines if