For the first time in history, we have earned the singing of the world's rarest whale

Black whales currently only have about 300 individuals worldwide. Therefore, studying them is very difficult.

Black whales currently only have about 300 individuals worldwide. Therefore, studying them is very difficult.

Whales are the creatures that suffer the most human impacts. Over time, many whales have disappeared, with countless species falling into the threshold of extinction.

North Pacific whales (also known as black whales - Eubalaena japonica) are one of such species. They used to be very large, but then the hunt of humans made the number of these animals fall to less than 300 worldwide. And also because there are so few, it is more difficult to study them.

Picture 1 of For the first time in history, we have earned the singing of the world's rarest whale

North Pacific whale, also known as black whale.

The difficulty is present in the latest research by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is despite knowing for a long time, but recently, experts from NOAA can record the "singing" of the black whale in the Bering Sea.

It is known that black whales are not the same as other species of whales. They are reluctant to "raise their voice" , but instead only contact the members of the group at close range.

"In the summer of 2010, we recorded some strange sound signals" - quoted Jessica Crance, an oceanographer from NOAA.

"We thought it might be a black whale, but we can't see it directly to confirm it. So from that point on, we started back to the data very far away, to see the sounds. The bar coincides with the time the whale appeared ".

In the past, it was known that black whales were capable of producing loud and ruptured sounds, but the timbre and melody - which made the so-called "whale music" appear only at certain places.

Hearing the whale sounds in reality is not rare. However, to make sure it comes from whales, it is a matter of careful research.

Picture 2 of For the first time in history, we have earned the singing of the world's rarest whale
Picture 3 of For the first time in history, we have earned the singing of the world's rarest whale

The state of this whale is therefore always at critical level.

Until 2017, when similar sounds were discovered in Bering Sea and 3 other seas, everything was clarified.

"We caught similar signals in the summer of 2017, and then confirmed that it came from male black whales," Crance said.

"We can claim that it is a black whale - a very interesting finding, because we have never heard them sing" - Crance shared. The team is now planning to collect more data in the past, to see if it is possible to determine the purpose of each of their songs.

In the black whale population at the place where the singing is discovered, there are only about 30 individuals. The state of this whale is therefore always at critical level. In small quantities, their future also becomes uncertain, especially in the face of climate change impacts.

The study was published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

Update 24 June 2019
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