Why do Whales Sing?

Whales sing

There is a traditional explanation which attributes whale singing to male whales as a way to seduce female whales while looking to reproduce.

The evidence that support this explanation is that only male humpback whales learn to sing.

Whale singing is one of the most characteristic
and intriguing behaviors of whales.

However, there are new theories about why do whales sing. According to a theory developed in the University of New York, whales can locate other whales by analyzing the distortion of the sing through water.

This implies the same kind of us dolphins give to some of the sounds they produce to detect dangers or food.

Whale singing is usually related to blue whales and humpback whales, because while other toothed whales produce some vocalizations they do not sing as the baleen whales mentioned above do.

There are some other theories, but these two above are the best known and accepted by the scientific community.

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Interesting facts about whale sing

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  • A typical whale song last up to 30 minutes.
  • Whales do not need to exhale to sing, which make scientist believe that they can recycle air inside their bodies somehow.
  • Males in the same pod will sing the same song, but the song changes from season to season.

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In conclusion, there is no conclusive evidence to support any of the current theories about why whales sing, but it is one of the most characteristic and intriguing behaviors of whales

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