How Do Whales Communicate with Each Other?

Whales are big mammals that swim in the ocean and eat plankton, living a large, slow life in the deep, dark sea. Many people do not know that whales communicate with each other using what is known as whale song.

Whales use high-pitched noises to communicate. This practice is known as whale song since the “music” seems unpredictable, melodious, and sounds like vocalized, musical squeals. Many musicians think that the communication system of whale song sounds a lot like the music humans make throughout the world in different musical traditions.

Many marine mammals besides whales make these sounds. Cetaceans all make these sounds, including whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Their sounds are all very different, and yet share some commonalities. Whales communicate throughout the day, some using whale song all year to communicate.

Underneath the water, it is very hard for whales and other marine mammals to see since it is so dark and the water can be dense. Communicating visually is not effective for marine life because of the dark ocean conditions. Whales actually do not have good vision, since they have evolved to not need to see well underneath the water in these dark, cloudy conditions. Therefore, it is really critical that whales effectively communicate using whale song. A whale’s mechanism for hearing and listening is actually quite good, and has evolved to support a whale’s needs under the water.

Scientists are still trying to understand just how do whales communicate with each other: sometimes the songs sound very patterned, and sometimes they seem random and confused. Nevertheless, in decades of whale song research, it has been shown that whales seem to communicate with some sort of structure in their song.

How Whales Make These Sounds

Unlike human sounds that are produce sound by pushing air through the larynx in the throat, baleen whales make sounds by recycling air through their larynx, making a buzzing, pulsed sound. Researchers think that cranial cavities and sinues might be involved in the production of these sounds, but they are unsure of how this process is actually carried out.

Some marine mammals, like dolphins, make clicks and squeaks using their lips and mouth cavities. They also have phonic lips at the top of their head, which is not unlike the human nose and helps them to make sounds.

Marine mammals also make clicking sounds. Some of these sounds are associated with echolocation, the process through which mammals like whales and bats find their way around in the dark.

Different Songs by Different Species

Whales communicate with each other and not other species of dolphins, whales, and other marine mammals. Each species seems to have a different song. Whales can make sounds that comprise whale song anywhere on the spectrum between 10Hz through 31 kHz. Some species use whale song only during mating, while other species use whale song throughout the year and during different stages of life.

The humpback whale is especially “famous” in the scientific and musical communities for its year-round whale song practices. Some whales sing alone, others sing in communication with another whale, and sometimes the songs are sun in groups competitively. Songs could be flirtatious, competitive, or simply interrogative as a mother looks for her child.

Whales which live close to one another have very similar songs, and it is believed that whales learn these songs from one another. Sound actually travels much faster within the water than at sea level, so information travels quickly from whale to whale when they communicate using whale song. 

Recording Whale Songs

Some scientists have collected recordings of songs sung by whales and other marine mammals in the ocean. You can buy these songs on CDs online and listen to the recordings at home.