Page 82 - 2007 DT 12 Issues

Sirens of the Sea Strangely, all humpback males to the blue whale, also use loud, low
sing the same song from pod to pod, frequency sounds to communicate.

he song of the humpback whale but each year the sounds and their se- Bowhead whales use low moaning
has been described as one of quences result in new themes. New sounds while socializing, traveling
Tthe most complex, non-hu- elements are incorporated—slow- and feeding.
man acoustic displays in the animal ly—into the song and some older Orcas, or killer whales, are the
kingdom. First recorded accidentally patterns are dropped altogether. Over largest member of the dolphin family
by the U.S. Navy in the 1950s in a several years, the song is completely and use chirps and whistles to “talk”
top-secret undersea project to moni- changed, in some cases, in as little as to each other or to navigate. They are
tor Soviet submarines, it wasn’t until two years. All humpback singers, re- gregarious and travel in family pods,
the 1960s that the origin of these gardless of size, evolve their common flocking together to hunt in packs.
intriguing sounds became known. In version simultaneously, even across Orcas are every marine creature’s
1971, the first technical description of a huge ocean basin like the North worst nightmare. They are a signifi-
humpback song was published by Dr. Pacific Ocean. In separate oceans, cant cause of death among the Gray
Roger Payne and Scott McVay in the however, the song may be different. whales that seasonally migrate
journal Science. Why do they sing? How do they up and down the western coast of
Little is known even now about choose what notes to sing? What cues North America.
the origin or purpose of whale-song. trigger the changes? How can their Beluga (or white) whales have
Usually heard during breeding sea- changing songs cross vast distances been called “Sea Canaries,” because
son, it also occurs during migration, so quickly? Science has yet to answer of their constant bird-like chirps,
in late summer and in fall feeding ar- such questions. whistles and squeals. Their sounds
eas. Only males sing. Their songs are Most cetacean species engage in fill the seas and can even be heard
thought to be calls to attract females, some kind of vo-
yet females seem to ignore them. calization. Blue
Some research suggests that males whales, which
sing to one another, perhaps in coop- can grow up to
eration and to recognize their closest 100 ft long and
male associates; or, they may sing to are the largest
broadcast a warning to other breeding mammals ever
males to stay away. to have lived
The humpback song consists on earth, sing
of single sounds or elements. Long with perfect
groans, low moans, roars, trills and pitch. The sing-
chirps are arranged into simple ing males work
repeating patterns of two to four to synchronize
different elements. These ‘phrases’ are the frequency of Humpback whale off the Baja Penninsula
repeated several times and will carry their calls at the
10 to 20 miles. Humpbacks will often same pitch, so it is impossible to tell above the waters. But when their nat-
hang head-down, tail-up roughly 50 their songs apart, even with a sono- ural enemies—the killer whales—are
to 100 feet below the surface while gram. Unlike with humpback whales, around, they become silent. These
singing. Usually the singer is alone blue whale calls vary among differ- slow swimmers live in the Arctic
and remains in one geographic loca- ent populations around the globe. Ocean and roam the coastal waters
tion for extended periods. At other To further confuse the issue, only of North America, northern Europe
times during a song session, a whale some—not all—males sing! and Russia in groups of 5 to 10, and
will travel hundreds of miles. Fin whales, second in size only at times, as many as 100. Because

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