Page 70 - World of Animals - Issue #41

All about the humpback whale

Song of the sea

Humpbacks can come together
to sing, but what does this mean?
The long and quite haunting songs that humpback whales sing
are only performed by males, but females also vocalise very
low frequency ‘beats’. Most often heard during the breeding
season, it’s commonly thought that songs are a way to woo
the females. It’s known that humpbacks communicate through
sound, and so the songs could also be a way of keeping in
touch, and possibly of expression.
Males sing together – it’s a social thing. The songs can last
anything from five to 30 minutes and repeat for hours. As more

males join in, the song changes gradually. All the males adapt
to the same song changes, as females prefer a mate who is in
touch with the current song ‘trend’.
To sing, males hang face-down in the water column. The
sound is produced by specialised vocal chords, and at a
frequency of between 80 and 4,000Hz, the song is carried up
to 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) through entire ocean basins.

Humpback males
are not the only
singers in the
ocean. Minke,

blue, fin and
bowhead whales
also sing to
attract females

Environmental factors
Due to their very wide range, whatever hurts the oceans hurts the whales
Climate change Offshore development
The whale’s main foodstuff, krill, As the demand for oil and gas grows,

feeds on algae living on sea ice. As this poses a real threat to whales.
the sea ice dwindles thanks to rising Devastating oil slicks and noise
temperatures, so does the krill. And pollution are just two of the many
no krill means no humpbacks. dangers these creatures face.
Fishing Shipping

Overfishing damages fragile Ship strikes are one of the main
ecosystems and food webs threats to humpback whales. Their
irreparably, and the discarding of slow movement and long migrations

fishing gear into the sea can entangle place them directly into major
and drown whales and other species. shipping lanes.
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