How do Whales Communicate with Each Other

It was a sound that seemed haunting yet melodious. It tried to give a message that seemed incomprehensible to Kate. This was yet another day when Kate tried with great dedication to know how do whales communicate with each other. She loved every minute of her time spent in the study of these magnificent creatures. She often wanted to delve deeply and tried her best to know about their communication methods. On her course of this journey, she made some startling discoveries in the process. Her love for these beautiful creatures was unending, and she often hoped to be able to decipher these sounds. ‘How I wish I could know what they were saying!’, was a thought Kate always had in mind!

Like Kate, I have often been curious to know the manner in which whales communicate with each other. Experts in the field have studied whale sounds in order to know more about their communication methods. These whale sounds are known as Whale songs. Whales use a particular technique for communication. Let’s know more about how whales communicate with each other.

How Do Whales Communicate with Each Other?
Whales use a method termed as echolocation to communicate with each other. This refers to a particular type of sound that is created by certain species of whales. Well, the reason why it’s known as a song is because of the similarity of these tunes with the ones composed by humans! Sounds really fascinating, isn’t it? These marine mammals are extremely dependant on sounds for communication as compared to sensation shown by land animals. Due to echolocation, these sounds also help to detect the size and nature of an object, which may be miles away. These echoes are received with the help of the lower jaw. The sound waves bounce off the object and are subsequently received by the whale. This helps to determine the size, shape, distance and direction of the object. These sounds are of varied frequency and complexity.

Male Humpback whales in particular, are known for their vocalization skills especially during the mating season. They create repetitive sounds that have varied frequencies. Apart from this, Humpback whales also produce various other sounds that may not be referred to as a whale song. These songs have become an interesting subject for scientists who are still studying the reasons of the same. Scientists have observed male Humpback whales in particular sing in close proximity of the female Humpback whales!

With whale hunting being a major issue, the numbers of whales have been on the decline. Besides, with the increase in the number of boats seen in the depths of the ocean, whale communication has become seemingly difficult for these mammals. Due to noise pollution created by humans, whale communication has become a difficult task, which affects their food habits and also creates problems particularly during the mating season. Researchers on this subject have studied the effects of human noise pollution and it’s effects on these mammals. Well, if only humans realize and help these beautiful marine mammals to live in harmony with man, life would surely look up for these amazing species.

If whales are your primary interest, then you might also enjoy reading about killer whales, whale sharks and whale watching.