52 Hertz

Imagine a life where you spoke in a language that no one else could understand. No matter how hard you try to communicate with others, you never receive any sort of response or acknowledgement. This is the life of 52 Hertz Whale, also known as the world’s loneliest whale.

LONELY WHALE

This poor whale calls at a frequency of 52 Hertz, hence the nickname mentioned above. 52 Hertz is an unusually higher pitched frequency, so unusual that no other whale species is capable of calling that high. Due to its (the sex of the whale has not been determined) unusual call frequency, it travels alone, and most likely will for the rest of its lonely life. How did this happen? Well, first of all, scientists have no idea what type of whale this lonely guy/girl actually is. Hybrid, malformed? Who knows? However, if scientists had to guess, they would say it is a mixture of a blue whale and a fin whale.

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Blue whales typically vocalize at 10–39 Hz, fin whales at 20 Hz, therefore they would never be able to hear 52 Hz (Hz= Hertz). So why do scientists consider the whale to be partially blue or fin whale? Its schedules have been slightly comparable to that of blue whales, yet its timing has been more like that of fin whales. It is spotted in the Pacific Ocean every year around August through December, then it moves out of range in January through February. It travels far north to Aleutian or the Kodiak Islands, and south to the California coast. It swims between 30 and 70 km each day, or 19 and 43 miles (since we are anti-metric system here in America).

So, I guess the real question here, how is this lonely whale surviving? Being social is a part of most species lives, how can it live being so alone? There is evidence that it is maturing –its voice has deepened slightly since the Navy first identified it in 1992. Although we do not 52 Hertz’s exact age, it continues to survive 23 years after its original discovery.

Alright,  think of this. Despite its loneliness, it still lives a healthy life. Do you think this is good or bad, living a long, healthy life completely lonely?

Link to its unique calling here: https://soundcloud.com/bbc_com/the-52hz-whale-recorded-by-bill-watkins

 

2 thoughts on “52 Hertz

  1. Great post! I don’t remember ever hearing about the existence of the 52 Hertz Whale, and this really captured my interest. Poor 52 Hertz, all alone! It’s amazing how it can even survive without companionship. I’d love to learn more about strange and unique animals like this…

  2. This is very interesting. I assume fin whales and blue whales are genetically similar enough to create hybrid offspring if scientists are considering the possibility. Could this whale be considered a product of global warming’s manipulations of temperature and with it migration patterns to bring these whales together?

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