Scientists Finally Uncover the Truth Behind the Haunting and Complex Songs of the Whales

Scientists had already known that whales produced some unusual sounds which sounded like mysterious songs. Humpbacks and other baleen whales have been proved to have a specialised “voice box” which helps them to sing underwater.

The Professor at the University of Southern Denmark, Coen Elemans said, “Sound is absolutely crucial for their survival, because it’s the only way they can find each other to mate in the ocean.”

“These are some of the most enigmatic animals that ever lived on the planet,” he added, “They are amongst the biggest animals, they’re smart and they’re highly social.”

Baleen whales come in a set of 14 distinctive species which include blue, humpback, right, minke as well as gray whale. They were gifted plates of baleen as a replacement for teeth through which they sieve through tiny creatures from the water.

This is exactly how they made these strange noises or songs which was finally figured out by the experts and as Prof. Elemans said, it was “super exciting” to uncover this mystery.

The expert and his team had thoroughly examined the larynxes or famously known as “voice boxes” which were harmlessly removed from three carcasses of stranded whales – a minke, a humpback, and a sei whale. They found out that they can blow air through these massive structures in order to make those noises or sounds.

In humans on the other hand, we produce noises from the vibrations when air passes through our vocal cords which are in our throats. Baleen whales, however, have a huge U-shaped structure with a cushion of fat at the top of the larynx. This is an important process however, as this helps the animals to sing through recycled air so that water can be prevented from being inhaled.