Why Do Whales Sing?
The Answer to Why do Whales Sing - from a List of - 20 of the Most Often Asked Questions about Whales
Most whales are very vocal, constantly making some kind of noise when in the company of other whales.....as a form of communication. If you've wondered Why do Whales Sing? - Whales actually "sing" for a variety of reasons - but it's done primarily to attract a female during mating season. The male Humpback Whale for example - generally hangs head down for hours to "sing his mating song".....coming up only to get a breath of air in between "notes". Since the Humpback and Blue Whale songs can be heard by other whales for 1000's of kilometers under the right conditions this assures finding suitable mates. Of note - songs of the Blue Whale are at such a low frequency that much of their sound is beyond our hearing. Listen to this "Great VIDEO CLIP" of a Male Humpback Whale.....the species known as the "Crooners" of the Cetacean World....just singing his heart out. Notice that he is head down - about 40 meters underwater - this is the customary stance for "singing".....the sounds of his singing are actually creating powerful vibrations through the water that the divers taking this video can actually "feel!" Toothed whales use much simpler sounds on a regular basis for locating food and navigation in the form of echolocation As a matter of fact - those low-frequency sounds known as the "Whale Song", do not occur at all in the Toothed Whales species...just a series of "clicks and whistles" to both communicate, navigate and find food. Notice that these complex songs are the same from the same ocean location...changing ever so slightly every year.....but the whales from other ocean areas sing a completely different whale song. Whales "chatter continuously" - some of these whale noises are for communication between whales in general and then there are the long and complex whale songs that are for the purpose of impressing the ladies. Just "click" on each whale and "the Play Button" on the bottom of each page - to hear the sounds each whale makes.
Photos courtesy of Tony Wu - Underwater Photographer - Thanks Tony.
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