Shots In The Dark
Thursday, March 08, 2007
  What Whales Are Saying
The Marine Ecology Progress Series journal reports that blue whale researchers seem to have discovered why the whales sing: to let other whales know where they are, and to demonstrate their reproductive fitness.

According to FoxNews.com,

The noises play a similarly important role during mating season when males sing long, low-pitched songs to indicate their reproductive fitness to females. Females select mates based on size and estimate that by evaluating males' songs: Larger males can take in more air and hold notes longer.

How cool is that? Pretty cool. But wait—it gets even better.

A related study, also by Scripps researchers, found that there are distinct "dialects" of whale-speak in different regions of the ocean.

In other words, whales in different parts of the globe speak different languages.

In my lifetime, I bet, we'll be able to understand what those whales are saying to each other, and maybe recreate their sounds so that we can communicate with the animals. I wonder if the first thing they'll say is, "Why do you want to kill us?" Or, perhaps, "What have you done to this planet?"

  8:31 AM  
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