Whale Sounds - How & Why?
The visibility in the ocean changes constantly. Sound travels very well through water, so hearing and sound are very important to all whales. Whales are very social animals, with most species living in family groups that look out for the needs of each member in the pod. They use many different types of vocalizations to communication with each other. Each species has their own unique whale sounds. The Beluga whales are known as the "canary of the sea"...because of their bird-like "chirping" sounds. Most whales are very "chatty" ..they speak to each other constantly. The sounds used for normal conversations are much different than that of their songs ..see Why do Whales Sing? In the VIDEO CLIP below of Killer Whales....you will be amazed at the difference in the sounds of the different "whale clans" A - G - R - and some Transient Whales as well and how vocal they all are!  The sounds they make are generated inside their blow-holes and not from their mouths like other mammals. They also make sounds above the water through their blowholes. The wide variety of high pitched "whistles" they use for communication and the "rattles or clicks" are a "Sonar" (SOund NAvigation Ranging) they use for echolocation to navigate in the dark waters and to find food. The "sonar"that whales use are special clicking-type sounds that bounce off wobjects in front of them and back to their brains to help them to interpret an objects size, shape, texture and how far the object is away ...see VIDEO CLIP of Sperm Whale using Sonar - on What do Whales Eat page...
They can make sounds that are way beyond our hearing. Especially Dolphins and Orca whales- much of their sounds are too high a frequency for our hearing. The Blue whale makes such a low frequency sound that most often it is hard to hear. Their sound is much like the low-pitched "whomp - whomp" of a steady ship engine. These whale sounds travel great distances under water (several hundred kilometers in the case of the low frequency sounds) so they serve to keep track of individuals and other pods. Because of the types of whale sounds they make they have very acute hearing....consequently the increase of ship and drilling noise in the oceans are causing many problems for all the whales in our oceans.
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