New technologies are revealing the remarkable complexity of whale communication – and showing how listening to whales could help protect them. Researchers studying belugas have found that calves spend years learning their vocal repertoire, babbling much like human toddlers. Their early self-identifying calls travel far shorter distances than adults’, making them particularly vulnerable to being masked by boat noise. This research has already helped inform protections restricting boats from important beluga gathering areas. Across other whale species, distinctive dialects are revealing cultural traditions passed between individuals and generations. Humpback songs spread between neighbouring populations across the South Pacific, while sperm whale clans use distinctive patterns of clicks that can identify particular social groups. Researchers are now combining hydrophones, drone footage and machine learning to connect whale sounds with specific behaviours and understand how human-generated noise affects communication. While scientists debate whether whale communication constitutes language, understanding these rich acoustic cultures could enable more targeted conservation – and reveal profoundly different ways of experiencing and navigating the world.
Read more about this fascinating language of whales on The Guardian.