Whale tales

Sailors used to think that the haunting melodies of the sea came from ghosts, sirens or other mythical sea creatures. It seemed that the songs must be a kind of magic rising through the waves.

Over the years, even as we discovered the source of each captivatingVery interesting or appealing. chorus, whale song has hardly become less mystifying. We still did not know how they make such curious vocalisations - or, perhaps more importantly, why.

Now scientists have worked out how. Recent research has unveiled the enigmaA coding device used by Germany in World War Two, thought to be impossible to crack. It was first decoded by Polish engineers in the 1930s. In 1941, Alan Turing developed a machine that was capable of cracking even its tightest codes. of the whale's underwater warbling: humpbacks and other baleen whales have a "voice box" which has evolved to allow them to sing underwater.

These voice boxes are evolutionarily advanced, but are restricted to a narrow frequency - meaning that they are easily disrupted by man-made sonic pollution.

Whilst we have only just entered our age of global connectivity with high-speed internet and satellites, whales have been communicating across borders since the beginning of time. According to scientists, humpback whales can spread their song from one population to another for thousands of miles across the ocean.¹ As much as half of the globe is vocally connected by whales.

Whale language is quite complex. The whales make short sounds, called units, which are combined into phrases. The phrases are combined into themes. And several themes make up a whale song.

And male humpback whales are quite the composers. They add new phrases and themes, little embellishments which their fellow males sometimes copy. Together, their voices make up a symphonyA long piece of music for an orchestra. of natural sound.

The songs last around 30 minutes each, but will be repeated many times over a number of hours or days, often with small evolutions. Each evolution is unique: once a combination has evolved, the original song will never be revisited.

Nobody knows for sure why so many species of whale sing in the dark depths. Many researchers believe that their music is meant to attract female mates for the male.

Amusingly, some think that male whales add special twists to their song to stand out to female suitors amongst their peers. Sometimes, scientists say, they will copy another male's song that they perceive as more impressive than their own, helping distinct sounds to travel as the whales migrateBiologists believe whales leave their polar feeding groups to give birth in the tropics away from their usual predators. Recent research suggests they may also migrate to molt, protecting their skin in warmer waters..

In other words, we have much in common with the wallowing whale. Their desolateVery sad, or a place that is bleak and empty. songs are similar to the melancholyA feeling of sadness. verses of our great poets and playwrights. But we are drowning out seafaring singers, filling the oceans with the din of roaring engines and sonarA way to find objects underwater by sending out sound pulses and measuring how they return after being reflected by items. blasts.

They remind us of who we really are, connecting us with the power of music. Their visionary songs teach us to appreciate beauty for its own sake. So why are we so desperate not to listen?

After all, we might imagine that they are singing to us. If they could talk, they might remind us to return to a life of simplicity: living in communities, singing in chorus, drifting through the cool depths, letting the sunlight dapple our skin.

It would not be the first time that whale song has done the world some good. Whale song was the anthem of the Save the Whales movement in the 1970s, and its beauty moved so many that the campaign ended large-scale whalingThe hunting of whales. in the United States.²

Could they save the world?

Yes: Whales remind us of everything that is important: peace over war, beauty over horror, connectivity over loneliness, simplicity over the endless distractions and complications of modernity. If we listened to them, we could save the world.

No: Whale song is nice to listen to, but it ultimately just has a biological function: to allow whales to mate. There is no deeper significance.

Or... Whale song could help us to return to our roots and become happier. But unfortunately, we are drowning it out with all the sonic pollution we make in the sea. Soon the whales will fall silent.