Featured Image Credit: whalewatching.sydney
When a whale jumps out of the ocean and splashes back against the surface… it’s a pretty incredible sight. But for a long time, cetacean specialists had no real answers as to why they did this; just a number of different speculations.
Fun? Maybe.
A better breath of fresh air, away from the spray-filled surface? Possibly!
Communication? Whale…
Thanks to a recently published study in the Marine Mammal Science journal by marine biologist Ailbhe Kavanagh, there’s evidence the thought that communication really is the key, and that background noise might be the reason behind it.
With humans getting louder and louder— ships with their motors, propellers, and use of underwater sonar as an example— in a world filled with marine animals that primarily use sound to communicate, just like us… well, you can see why this might be an issue.
During the September and October months of 2010 and 2011, Kavanagh spent his time watching about 94 groups of humpback whales during their migration, off the coast of Australia’s Peregian Beach. He spent almost 200 hours with this whale watching endeavor!
What he found out was that when the whales were far apart— around 4,000 meters (or 2.5 miles) or so— the occurrence of breaching or hitting the surface with their tails or flippers increased.
The reason could be that it’s easier to hear a large thud caused by a 40-ton whale that’s either slapping its fins on the water or slamming its body back into the water after a jump. While the calls may work when they’re all close by… sound does travel extremely well through water, better than through the air. With the increase in noise pollution, the acoustics of their lyrical language could get easily muddled.
This is a pretty awesome discovery, knowing finally what the peculiar behavior is all about— although it’s a clear indicator of the human impact. These magnificent mammals have adapted to find other ways to say “hello”— as well as to let us know that they’re here, too.