Culture
Learn About The Mysteries and Complexities Of Whale Song
By loading the video, you agree to YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more
One positive result of the Cold War is that we now have a better understanding of whale communication. This is mostly thanks to the Americans, who employed underwater microphones to monitor Soviet submarine activity. The technology not only picked up war maneuvers, but also the mysterious tones of humpback whale song.
Medium has a great article up at the moment that goes in-depth on the subject. It punctures the myth that humpback cries are simply random bursts of unrelated sound. Rather, researchers have found that whale songs have repetitive structures, highly intricate sonic textures and transmissions can last for over 20 hours — a good dose of humility to swallow for any human superiority complexes you might harbor.
For more studies into the animal world’s intrinsic musicality read more here.
