Bowhead whales: Jazz artists of the deep

THEIR eerie and haunting sounds have often been described as songs, and that may be because whales have a lot in common with jazz musicians, scientists say.

A three-year study has discovered that bowhead whales, found in the Arctic Ocean, have a repertoire of 184 songs. The mammals sing in a free-form way that involves improvising around one of the tunes.

Bowhead “music” contrasts with the other whale known for its singing, the humpback, which produces melodious and less varied songs common to each male population.

Lead researcher Dr Kate Stafford said: “If humpback whale song is like classical music, bowheads are jazz. The sound is more free form. And when we looked through four winters of acoustic data, not only were there never any song types repeated between years, but each season had a new set of songs.”

Experts say the noise made by whales is not true singing, but more of a call.

In contrast, birdsong involves complex musical phrases that must be learned. However, the scientists – who studied a 200-strong bowhead colony off Spitzbergen, Norway – found the creatures had a far more intricate, complex and ever-changing repertoire than they had expected.

It is not known if it is only the males that sing, whether any of their songs are shared between individuals or why their tunes continually change. The purpose of the musicmaking is a mystery but experts believe it may have a role in attracting mates, or possibly as a method of defending territory. – Daily Mail