Are whales communicating with their clicks and songs?

Summary

Summary of "Are Whales Communicating with Their Clicks and Songs?" – Brains On! Science Podcast for Kids

Release Date: December 17, 2024

Hosted by Molly Bloom and produced by American Public Media, "Brains On!" explores fascinating scientific questions with a playful and educational approach. In the episode titled "Are Whales Communicating with Their Clicks and Songs?", Molly Bloom and co-host Tyler delve deep into the mysterious world of whale communication, unraveling the complexities of whale songs and clicks.

---

Introduction to Whale Communication

The episode kicks off with a cozy, relatable scene where Molly and her co-host Mark humorously attempt to create the perfect relaxing atmosphere with whale songs. This lighthearted beginning segues into the main topic as listener Tyler introduces his captivating question: "Does each individual whale sing a different song?" (02:25).

Understanding Whale Types: Baleen vs. Toothed Whales

To address Tyler's curiosity, the hosts first lay the groundwork by explaining the two primary categories of whales:

• Baleen Whales: Including species like humpbacks and blue whales, these whales possess baleen plates made of keratin (the same material as human fingernails). These plates function as a strainer to filter tiny prey like krill from ocean water (05:05).

• Toothed Whales: This group includes belugas, sperm whales, dolphins, and orcas. Unlike baleen whales, they have teeth and use them to catch their prey (05:47).

The Mechanics of Baleen Whale Songs

Molly and Tyler delve into the intricate process of how baleen whales produce their songs. Notably, baleen whales use a specialized U-shaped muscle in their voice boxes to create complex sounds. "Baleen whales sing songs using a U-shaped muscle in their voice box. That muscle helps them make all sorts of sounds," Tyler explains (15:33). This mechanism allows these whales to produce sequences of sounds that can be transmitted over vast ocean distances.

Shared and Evolving Whale Songs

Addressing the central question, the hosts reveal that individual baleen whales do not possess unique songs. Instead, within a pod—a group of whales—members harmonize to sing the same song. Moreover, these songs are not static; they evolve as phrases are shared and modified between different pods, effectively passing songs from one group to another across oceans. Molly summarizes this beautifully: "Whale songs can pass from pod to pod, eventually spreading across entire oceans," (17:07).

Imagining Whale Communication

The episode features heartwarming and creative responses from listeners imagining what whales might say if they could communicate with humans. Responses range from pleas to protect the oceans to humorous remarks about human activities:

• "Please save our Earth and protect our oceans," says Yala from Tonga (17:47).
• Pet Charisse humorously suggests whales might say, "Stop using my poop as an ice cream flavor," (18:04).

These imaginative responses highlight the listeners' engagement and underline the importance of whale conservation.

Exploring Toothed Whale Sounds: The Case of Sperm Whales

Transitioning to toothed whales, the episode spotlights sperm whales and their distinctive clicking sounds. Expert Shane Garrow from Carleton University explains that sperm whales produce clicks by forcing air through their specialized nasal structures, creating powerful and directional sounds essential for navigation and communication in the dark depths of the ocean (20:24). These clicks serve multiple purposes:

• Echolocation: Helping whales navigate and locate prey in pitch-black waters (22:42).
• Social Communication: Facilitating interactions within and between pods.

The Impact of Ocean Noise Pollution

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the challenges whales face due to human-induced ocean noise pollution. Shane Garrow emphasizes that the constant barrage of sounds from ships, sonar, and industrial activities disrupts whales' ability to communicate and navigate. "Humans are making lots of noise in the oceans... that's making the ocean more like a rock concert," notes Anna Goldfield (24:12). This analogy underscores the detrimental effects of noise pollution on these marine giants, likening their underwater environment to an overwhelming and chaotic concert.

Intelligence and Social Structures of Whales

The episode also sheds light on the profound intelligence and social complexity of whales. Through the story of a sperm whale named Can Opener, listeners gain insight into the nuanced behaviors and emotional capacities of these creatures. Shane Garrow narrates how Can Opener exhibited remarkable problem-solving skills and social interactions, challenging scientists to consider the emotional and cognitive lives of whales (25:00). This narrative fosters a deeper appreciation for the intellectual and emotional richness of whale societies.

Conclusion: Recapping Whale Communication

In wrapping up, Molly and Tyler summarize the key takeaways:

• Baleen Whales: Utilize U-shaped muscles in their voice boxes to create evolving songs that are shared among pods (27:27).
• Toothed Whales: Proficient in producing clicks for echolocation and communication, with ongoing research aimed at deciphering their click-based language (27:51).

The episode concludes by encouraging listeners to continue exploring the wonders of whale communication and to contribute their creative questions and ideas to future episodes.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Tyler on Baleen Whale Songs: "Baleen whales sing songs using a U shaped muscle in their voice box. That muscle helps them make all sorts of sounds." (15:33)

• Anna Goldfield on Ocean Noise Pollution: "Humans are making lots of noise in the oceans... that's making the ocean more like a rock concert." (24:12)

• Shane Garrow on Whale Intelligence: "There’s this amazing whale named Can Opener... she realized it did a repeating pattern... acknowledging that, you know, the complicated, fun thing were the little things on the big thing that's floating on her side of the surface." (25:00)

Key Insights and Conclusions

• Whale Communication is Complex and Evolving: Baleen whale songs are shared and modified across pods, leading to dynamic and widespread song patterns.

• Sound is Vital for Whale Survival: Both baleen and toothed whales rely heavily on sound for navigation, hunting, and social interactions, making them highly susceptible to noise pollution.

• Whale Intelligence and Emotional Capacity: Stories like that of Can Opener reveal the deep intelligence and emotional lives of whales, advocating for more empathetic and informed scientific approaches.

• Conservation Implications: Understanding whale communication underscores the urgent need to mitigate human-induced ocean noise pollution to preserve the intricate social and survival mechanisms of these majestic creatures.

---

This episode of Brains On! provides a comprehensive and engaging exploration of whale communication, blending scientific explanations with creative storytelling and listener participation. It not only answers Tyler's initial question but also broadens listeners' understanding of the intricate lives of whales and the challenges they face in our oceans.

Transcript

[Tyler]

You're listening to Brains on, where we're serious about being curious.

[Yala]

Brains on is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

[Molly]

A rainy Sunday afternoon. The perfect time for some cozy relaxation. Cushy recliner.

[Anna Goldfield]

Check.

[Molly]

Crocheted blanket.

[Anna Goldfield]

A.

[Molly]

Check. Mug of tea with lemon and honey. Oh, check. Now to put on some relaxing sounds.

[Mark]

Mark, my dude, it's a rainy Sunday.

[Molly]

Yes, I know. Perfect for relaxing.

[Mark]

So what are you listening to?

[Molly]

The ideal soundtrack for relaxation. Whale songs.

[Mark]

Ah, like a wailing guitar solo.

[Molly]

No, not a whaling guitar. A song made by a whale. You know, a big, beautiful ocean mammal.

[Mark]

Oh, yeah, right, right, right, right, right. Yeah.

[Molly]

You want to try sitting down and relaxing? It's pretty nice if you give it a try.

[Mark]

Okay, sure. Why not? Relaxing. Relaxing. Okay. All right. This isn't too bad, but, Mark, I'm not sure the whale song is relaxing enough. You know what I mean? I mean, it's relaxing, but is it Max relaxing? Is it Relax. Maxing.

[Molly]

Okay, if I let you switch the music to something more relaxing, would you stop talking and just chill out?

[Mark]

Definitely. Harvey, play the sand and Whale song.

[Anna Goldfield]

Yeah.

[Mark]

Oh, this is the stuff.

[Anna Goldfield]

Sand it.

[Molly]

Make it stop. What?

[Mark]

I can't hear you. I'm too busy relaxing.

[Anna Goldfield]

You're listening to Brains on from APM Studios. I'm Molly Bloom, and my co host today is Tyler from Freeport, Maine. Hi, Tyler.

[Tyler]

Hi, Molly.

[Anna Goldfield]

Today's episode is about some of the biggest, most breathtaking animals in the ocean. Whales. Tyler, you wrote to us a few years ago with an awesome question about whales. Right?

[Tyler]

Yeah. I wanted to know if each individual whale sings a different song.

[Anna Goldfield]

Very cool. Yes. So we know that whales sing sort of like how birds sing, but you want to know if each whale has their own unique song or if a group of whales all sings the same song. So what made you think of this question?

[Tyler]

Well, a couple years ago, I was going on a whale watch in Massachusetts, and that was really fun. I saw all sorts of different whales. It's where a lot of people go out on a big ship and watch for whales.

[Anna Goldfield]

Oh, that's so cool.

[Tyler]

We saw a whole pod of fin whales.

[Anna Goldfield]

Wow.

[Tyler]

They're the second biggest.

[Anna Goldfield]

That's amazing. Where did you do your whale watching?

[Tyler]

I did my whale watching near Plymouth, Massachusetts.

[Anna Goldfield]

Oh, very cool. What was it like seeing a whale in real life?

[Tyler]

It was incredible. A fin whale swam right under the boat and looked at us.

[Anna Goldfield]

Whoa. So, Tyler, what is your favorite thing about whales?

[Tyler]

Probably the size of their hearts.

[Anna Goldfield]

Whoa. How big is their heart?

[Tyler]

A blue Whale's heart is the size of a car.

[Anna Goldfield]

Whoa. That's so cool. Yeah. Sometimes it's hard to remember how big whales are, but then you realize their heart is the size of a car and it reminds you how giant they are. So I'm wondering, can I hear your best whale impression?

[Tyler]

Oh, gosh.

[Anna Goldfield]

I can do mine first if you want.

[Tyler]

Very well.

[Anna Goldfield]

Oo, that's mine.

[Tyler]

That sounds kind of like the whale from Finding Nemo.

[Anna Goldfield]

True. It's probably the most I've heard whales is from Finding Nemo or at the beginning of the song Baby Beluga by Raffi. At the beginning they go, brr. I've heard that a lot of times, too. Back to the question at hand. Can I hear your best whale impression? Ooh, very nice. Yeah. Whales are incredible. But, Tyler, before we answer your question, we need to cover some whale basics.

[Tyler]

There are lots of different kinds of whales, but all of them are grouped into two categories. Baleen whales and toothed whales.

[Anna Goldfield]

Baleen whales include humpbacks and blue whales. They have rows and rows of thick bristles inside their mouths, like a comb. These are called baleen plates, and they're made of something called keratin, the same stuff our fingernails are made out of.

[Tyler]

Baleen whales use these thick, bristly plates like a strainer. They use their mouth to suck in ocean water full of tiny animals like krill. The krill gets trapped in the baleen and then the whales eat them.

[Anna Goldfield]

Toothed whales, like their name suggests, have teeth. They use those chompers to catch their meals. There are all different kinds of toothed whales, like belugas, sperm whales, dolphins and orcas.

[Tyler]

Baleen and toothed whales don't just have different ways of catching their food. They also make different whale sounds.

[Anna]

Did somebody say whale sounds?

[Anna Goldfield]

It's Brains on producer Anna Goldfield. And yes, we were just talking about whale sounds.

[Anna]

Oh, wow. What a coincidence. I'm on my way to audition for a whale song choir.

[Tyler]

A whale choir? Like a bunch of humans who sing whale songs?

[Anna]

Oh, no, no, no. I sing with humans all the time. Like Molly, the hello song we sing whenever we see each other.

[Anna Goldfield]

Hello, hello, hello, hello. It's nice to see your face. Hey. Gosh, I love singing that.

[Anna]

Oh, I know. So fun. So anyway, I have plenty of human singing in my life already, so I'm auditioning to join a choir of actual baleen whales. They're humpbacks and they're amazing. Check out this recording of their last performance.

[Tyler]

Oh, wow.

[Anna]

You know, I'm pretty sure it's a whale choir. And I'm pretty sure they'll be holding auditions soon.

[Anna Goldfield]

That might be a leap, but yeah, let's go with it.

[Anna]

So, to help get ready for my audition, I've been looking into how whales make their songs. And it's so wild. Turns out baleen whales have voice boxes.

[Shane Garrow]

Cool.

[Anna Goldfield]

Humans have those too.

[Tyler]

Yeah. The voice box is a long hollow tube in our throat that helps us breathe and make sounds.

[Anna]

Exactly. And inside of that tube, humans have something called vocal cords. If you touch your neck and say something, you'll feel your vocal cords vibrating like this.

[Anna Goldfield]

Wow. You can really feel those vibrations. So is that how whales make sounds too? Which? Their voice boxes?

[Anna]

Yeah, kinda. Baleen whales do have voice boxes like us, but they don't have vocal cords like we do. So how they make sounds has actually been a mystery for a while. But scientists think they might have finally figured it out.

[Anna Goldfield]

Oh, I love it when a mystery starts to unravel.

[Anna]

Yeah. So scientists studied voice boxes taken from three different baleen whales in a laboratory. These whale voice boxes are much bigger than ours. They're about two feet long.

[Tyler]

Whoa. That's a big voice box.

[Anna]

Yeah, sure is. And when they looked inside the whale's voice boxes, scientists found that they had this special muscle. It's shaped kinda like the letter U. And that U shaped muscle sits right up against a cushion of fat inside the whale's throat.

[Tyler]

A U shaped muscle in the throat next to fat. Okay, how does it work?

[Anna]

Scientists think that whales force air from their lungs past this U shaped muscle inside their voice box, and that makes the cushion of fat start to vibrate, which makes sounds like these.

[Anna Goldfield]

Wow. That's pretty amazing.

[Anna]

I know. And fun fact, that recording actually came from a hugely popular album of humpback songs produced by a whale biologist. The album helped people connect with whales and inspired them to protect these majestic sea creatures.

[Tyler]

Oh, yeah, There's a whole episode on the history podcast forever ago about that. It's a really cool story.

[Anna]

Sure is.

[Tyler]

That reminds me, I read that only male baleen whales can sing. True or.

[Anna]

That's true. Scientists don't know why only the males sing, but they think it has to do with finding other whales to mate with. Or with marking their territory. Oh, and get this. They can sing underwater while holding their breath.

[Anna Goldfield]

Um, Anna, that seems like it might be kinda hard for a human to do. How are you going to audition for this whale choir? Ha ha.

[Anna]

Minor details, Molly. Maybe there's some kind of underwater whale song adapter I can make for my SW scuba suit. Or maybe the choir just needs a percussionist. I'll figure it out on the way to the audition.

[Tyler]

Thanks for telling us all about whale songs, Anna.

[Anna Goldfield]

Bye, Anna. Good luck with the whale choir audition.

[Anna]

Thanks, you two.

[Anna Goldfield]

Byee. We're gonna talk more about baleen whale songs and hear how toothed whales make sounds. But first, it's time for the.

[Tyler]

Mystery sound.

[Anna Goldfield]

Are you ready for the mystery sound, Tyler?

[Tyler]

I am.

[Anna Goldfield]

Here it is. What do you think?

[Tyler]

Well, the first part sounds almost like someone eating chips with this fan blowing. The second part, he might have dropped something or someone.

[Anna Goldfield]

Very good ears. Let's hear it again. I have no idea what this is either, so let's. I need to hear it again. Okay. What do you think now?

[Tyler]

Now I'm thinking it's maybe someone snapping something for cooking.

[Anna Goldfield]

Oh, what do you think it could be?

[Tyler]

I don't know, but something related to cooking and then they drop. Maybe the thing they were using to stir or something.

[Anna Goldfield]

Oh, nice. I like that.

[Tyler]

Oh, wait, it might be a nutcracker, actually. Oh, like cracking nuts and then they put down the nutcracker.

[Anna Goldfield]

Yeah, so when you crack a nut, you're like getting the shell off and so you can eat what's inside. Yeah, Fascinating. All right, we're going to hear it again. Get another chance to guess and hear the answer at the end of the show. So stick around. We are working on an episode about how paper is made. Paper is all around. There are pizza boxes, toilet paper, books, wrapping paper. We use it to pay people, wipe up messes, share ideas, and so much more. And we want to see your paper creations. What have you made out of paper? Origami sculptures, paper planes, collages. Tyler, what's something cool that you have made out of paper?

[Tyler]

About a year ago, I made these paper dragons by stapling and taping. And then I used some pencils. I still have them.

[Anna Goldfield]

That's really cool. How did you learn to make them?

[Tyler]

I don't know. I just someday thought I was bored, so then I was like, ooh, what if I made a paper toothless? Ah, then I did it and then I made other stuff.

[Anna Goldfield]

That's so cool. Well, listeners, we want you to take a picture of your paper creations and send them to [e-mail] contact while you're there. You can also send us your mystery.

[Tyler]

Sounds and questions like this one.

[Yala]

My question is, how many times does our heart beat a day?

[Anna Goldfield]

You can find answers to questions like these on the Moment of, um, podcast. A short dose of facts and fun every weekday. Find moment of um and [e-mail] so keep listening. Brains On Universe is a family of.

[Anna]

Podcasts for kids and their adults.

[Anna Goldfield]

Since you're a fan of Brains on, we know you'll love the other shows in our universe. Come on, let's explore Brains On. I'm their biggest fan. I also love smashboom Best, a fun debate podcast for kids and families. Listen. I will play you smashboom Best. You will love to refresh your memory. The ugly duckling goes like this. A bunch of duck eggs hatch and the cute little ducklings go quack, quack, quack. Mother duck is super happy with her eggs when quack. The last one explodes and out comes this zorp. Where did the signal go? Must find smash. Boom.

[Anna]

Bust.

[Anna Goldfield]

Now listen to SmashBoom best wherever you get your podcasts.

[Tyler]

Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba.

[Molly]

Brains.

[Tyler]

You're listening to Brains On. I'm Tyler.

[Anna Goldfield]

And I'm Molly. Today we're talking all about whale songs. So far, we've learned that there are two main types of whales, baleen and toothed whales. And they make different sounds.

[Tyler]

Baleen whales make sounds with a special U shaped muscle inside their voice box. That muscle helps them make all sorts of sounds. And some of them can even sing.

[Anna Goldfield]

We'll get to toothed whales in a minute, but first, let's answer your question, Tyler. Does every whale have its own unique song? And the answer is they do not. If you're a baleen whale swimming in the ocean, you wouldn't hear something like this.

[Molly]

I'm Tommy, the humpback whale. This is my super, super special only me song, which no one else sings.

[Anna Goldfield]

Only me. That doesn't happen. But a group of whales called a pod can all learn to sing the same song. Kinda like this. We're the humpbacks of the North Atlantic. We love to swim and splash and play. Hey.

[Tyler]

Got it. So each individual whale doesn't have its own special song, but a group of male whales can learn to sing the same songs.

[Anna Goldfield]

Exactly. And when whales share a song with other members of their pod group, scientists can figure out who is part of each whale pod. Another cool thing about whale songs is that they can pass from pod to pod. So when male whales feed close to each other in the ocean, they can pick up new phrases or learn entirely new songs from each other. We know this because scientists have tracked whale songs across oceans, meaning that they're passed between groups.

[Tyler]

Almost like a giant game of whale telephone.

[Anna Goldfield]

Exactly. Whale communication is Complicated and amazing. And we're still trying to figure out what whales are saying to each other. We asked you to imagine what whales would want to tell us if they.

[Tyler]

Could talk to humans, and your responses were overwhelmingly good.

[Yala]

Hi, my name's Yala and I come from the kingdom of Tonga. A lot of humpback whales come here to breed. I think if whales could talk to us, they'd ask us why we put so much rubbish in the ocean.

[Anna Goldfield]

Hey, do you like fish and chicks up there?

[Yala]

I am a whale and I want to say, please save our Earth and protect our oceans. Please. Hi, I'm Pet Charisse from Hollywood, Maryland, and this is what I think whales would say if they could talk.

[Tyler]

Stop using my poop as an ice cream flavor. It is not delicious. You should make human flavored ice cream, then give it to me, nom nom.

[Yala]

My name is Winnie and I think if blue whales could talk, then they would tell us to stop polluting the ocean because the largest trash dump site in the world is the Pacific Ocean. If whales can say something to humans, they will say I love you.

[Shane Garrow]

Thanks to Shial, Tomas, Dylan, Petra, Winnie and Lennox for those responses.

[Anna Goldfield]

Tyler, what do you think whales would.

[Shane Garrow]

Want to tell us if they could talk to humans?

[Tyler]

I think they tell us about life under the sea. It would be pretty cool.

[Anna Goldfield]

That would be pretty cool.

[Tyler]

We could almost exchange information.

[Anna Goldfield]

Ugh, I would love that.

[Tyler]

Also, I think they would tell us what their food tastes like.

[Anna Goldfield]

Oh, what do you think it would taste like?

[Tyler]

Pretty bland. And giant squid. I read in a book if we tried that, someone once tasted them and it tasted like urine.

[Anna Goldfield]

Oh, yeah.

[Tyler]

Because of a chemical. Oh, yeah.

[Anna Goldfield]

It doesn't sound that good.

[Tyler]

Yeah.

[Anna Goldfield]

I wonder how they would feel about our food if they tried it. They'd be like, wow, this tastes gross. Maybe it's all an acquired taste. Baleen whales use special muscles in their throats to produce complicated songs.

[Tyler]

These whales don't have individual songs, but some types of baleen whales sing songs that can pass from one pod to another, eventually spreading across entire oceans.

[Anna Goldfield]

So far, we've only been talking about baleen whales, like humpbacks and blue whales, but the other kind of whale, toothed whales also make sounds and they sound like this.

[Tyler]

Those clicks come from a sperm whale living in the Caribbean Ocean.

[Anna Goldfield]

Shane Garrow is trying trying to figure out what those clicks mean.

[Harvey]

I'm a scientist in residence at Ottawa's Carleton University. I'm the biology lead for Project SETI and the founder of the Dominica Sperm Whale Project.

[Anna Goldfield]

Shane and his team have recorded lots and lots of sperm whale clicks.

[Tyler]

And he says the way sperm whales make this noise is amazing. It starts with their nose.

[Harvey]

Sperm whales have one of the coolest noses on the planet. For the big males, it can be one third of their body. And this is an animal that' size, you know, bigger than a school bus that might take you to school. And if you've ever blown up a balloon and pulled the mouth of the balloon tight and it kind of makes a farty sound, it's making that farty sound because the two sides of the balloon are slapping together. And that's basically what sperm whales are doing in their nose. They're filling a balloon and passing it between two pieces of skin that slap together and that makes the click sound. And then it travels through this big organ that's filled with oil in their head and sort of gets amplified and directionalized. It's one of the most powerful sounds made by any animal.

[Anna Goldfield]

Adult male sperm whales don't live in pods. They swim the ocean on their own. But female and young sperm whales travel in families. Grandmas, moms and kids living their lives together.

[Tyler]

And since these whale families stay together, Shane and his team have gotten to know the ones that live around Dominica really well.

[Anna Goldfield]

Dominica is a small island country in the eastern part of the Caribbean Sea.

[Harvey]

So we've been listening to the same families of whales for the last 20 years. And one of the big challenges now is to connect that to what they're doing and who they're doing it with when they make those sounds. So if you only ever recorded English in a dentist's office, you'd think the word cavity is critically important to English speaking society, but really it's because you're only recording dentists and kids in the dentist's office, right? And so we need to record whales across all of the amazing things that they do to understand what sounds they make when they dive and what sounds they make when they're caring for a baby, and what sounds they make when they're alone or together. Because once you have the who's saying it and the what they're saying, you can start asking the fascinating question of why, like, what is so important to these whales that they want to make sounds with each other?

[Anna Goldfield]

It turns out that sound is incredibly important for these whales to survive.

[Tyler]

They sometimes spend an hour at a time deep in the ocean where there is no light at all.

[Harvey]

So most of their life is in dark. And as a result, they live in a world of sound. They Use sound to see through the darkness in the same way we might use a flashlight to see through the dark. Kind of like bats see in the night sky. You know, they make loud clicks that are very directional. They mostly are pointing those clicks straight ahead of them and then they listen for the echo as it bounces off things. So they use sound to find food. They use sound to swim around in the deep ocean without bumping into things. And they use sound to communicate and stay in touch with each other so that they can always stay with their family. Because for them, family is critical to their survival. For them, the most important isn't the ability to see, it's the ability to hear. And that's why things like our presence in the ocean, where we have lots of ships or lots of sonar sounds or looking for oil, creates a lot of noise. That creates something that we call ocean noise pollution. And that's really a concern for the whales because it, it makes it like living in a rock concert.

[Anna Goldfield]

When you're at a rock concert, you have to talk like this.

[Tyler]

What did you.

[Anna Goldfield]

I said, wait, can we turn the music off? Thank you. If it's hard for us to talk with loud noises happening, imagine how it is for whales. Humans are making lots of noise in the oceans from boats and drills and whatnot, and that's making the ocean more like a rock concert.

[Tyler]

And that's not great for the animals that live there.

[Anna Goldfield]

Shane is just starting to figure out what sperm whales clicks mean. But one thing we do know is that these animals are very smart and.

[Harvey]

Their brains are big, mammalian brains like ours, Right. It's clear that this is a brain that's evolved, that's come into being for the sake of complicated thought, right. It's just really hard to study. But, you know, when you spend a huge amount of time in the company of individual whales that, you know, as individuals, you see things that science isn't yet good enough to quantify. Like there's this amazing whale named Can Opener. And when we first started doing our science, good scientists do things over and over and over and over, right? And so when we see a whale, we get behind it, we wait. While it's at the surface, it lifts its tail. In that quintessential moment, we take a picture of its tail because that's how we identify them, and then it disappears. And we go up to the fluke print of water, the circle sort of where the whale just was, and. And we collect skin and feces and we make recordings. And she figured that out and so she would Fake dives and wait underwater for the boat to come up to where she just was. And then she would blow out all her air and come to the surface. But amazingly, she would roll her eye out of the water and look at the people on the boat. She didn't use her echolocation. She didn't use her sound vision to look at the hull of the boat underwater. She rolled her eye out of the water to look at, at people who are now giddy and dancing around the boat because a whale is looking at them. And to me, that shows that she saw something new in her environment. She realized it did a repeating pattern. She predicted the future by saying, I'll wait here and the boat will come. And then she rolled her eye out of the water, acknowledging that, you know, the complicated, fun thing were the little things on the. On the big thing that's floating on her side of the surface. And to me, it means that we can do better science by assuming that these animals are smart, that they think that they care and have emotions about one another.

[Anna Goldfield]

Wow, Tyler, does that change how you think about whales?

[Tyler]

It does. It changes it a lot. I mean, I knew whales were intelligent, but not this. And I didn't know that sperm whales live in families. It's pretty cool.

[Anna Goldfield]

It is. It's very amazing. If you want to see photos of the whales that Shane has gotten to know through his research, like can opener the sperm whale, head to our website brainson.org or click on the link in the show notes. There are two types of whales in the world, toothed whales and baleen whales. They both communicate using sound, but in very different ways.

[Tyler]

Baleen whales sing songs using a U shaped muscle in their voice box.

[Anna Goldfield]

Male baleen whales sing complex pattern songs. And scientists are still discovering exactly why they're singing and what they're saying.

[Tyler]

But the coolest part about baleen whale songs is that they can change over time and are passed from whale to whale throughout our oceans.

[Anna Goldfield]

Toothed whales make clicking sounds and. And sperm whales, a kind of toothed whale, have a complicated language made of clicks that scientists are just beginning to decode.

[Tyler]

That's it for this episode of Brains On.

[Anna Goldfield]

This episode was written by Charlotte Traver and me, Molly Bloom. Our editors are Sandon Totten and Shayla Farzon. Fact checking by Jess Miller. We had engineering help from Colby Kelch and Derek Ramirez with sound design by Rachel Breese. Original theme music by Mark Sanchez.

[Tyler]

We had production help from the rest of the Brains on Universe team, Rosie.

[Anna]

Dupont, Anna Goldfield, Nico Gonzalez Whistler Ruby.

[Molly]

Guthrie, Lauren Humphert, Joshua Wright, Mark Sanchez, Anna Weigel and Aron Woldeselassi.

[Anna Goldfield]

Beth Groman is our executive producer and the executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Special thanks to Jen and Damo Lydiard.

[Tyler]

Brainson is a non profit public radio program.

[Anna Goldfield]

There are lots of ways to support the show. Subscribe to BrainzonUniverse on YouTube where you can watch animated versions of some of your favorite episodes. Or head to brainzon.org while you're there.

[Tyler]

You can send us mystery sounds, drawings and questions.

[Anna Goldfield]

Okay, Tyler, are you ready to listen to that mystery sound again?

[Tyler]

Yes.

[Anna Goldfield]

Awesome. Here it is. Okay. Last time you thought a nutcracker. Do you have new thoughts?

[Tyler]

I still think it's a nutcracker. And then they set it down.

[Anna Goldfield]

Okay.

[Tyler]

Like I've done that and it sounds pretty similar to that.

[Anna Goldfield]

I love that. I think it's someone cracking a hard boiled egg and then putting down another egg and then deciding that they actually don't want to eat the egg at all. I think yours is probably more right. Nutcracker sounds better. I'm gonna go with nutcracker. Should we find out if we're right?

[Tyler]

Yes, we shall.

[Anna Goldfield]

Okay, here's the answer.

[Yala]

Hi, my name is Aisling from Florence, Italy. And the sound you just heard was me putting my retainer on and then taking it off.

[Anna Goldfield]

Whoa. A retainer.

[Tyler]

Who would have guessed?

[Anna Goldfield]

Not us.

[Tyler]

Not us.

[Anna Goldfield]

I had a retainer back in the day. And what it is is like a piece of plastic and metal that you put in your mouth to move your teeth or keep your teeth in the same spot. So like, a lot of people will get them after they've gotten braces, they'll get a retain. So that person is taking their retainer out of their mouth. And then. So I think that was the clicking sound, which we thought was a nutshell breaking, and then putting it down, which is what we thought the nutcracker was. So, you know, it's a tough one.

[Tyler]

It is.

[Anna Goldfield]

Yeah. My retainer. I'm not sad. I don't wear it anymore. They get kind of gross, to be honest with you.

[Tyler]

I'm not sad. I don't wear it yet.

[Anna Goldfield]

Yeah, definitely.

[Shane Garrow]

Now it's time for the brains honor roll. These are the kids who keep the show going with their questions, ideas, mystery.

[Anna Goldfield]

Sounds, drawings and high fives.

[Shane Garrow]

Aria from Melrose, Massachusetts, Ram from Troy, Michigan, Cormac Rooney and Kiernan from St. Louis. Ashton from London, England. Ensley from Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Ashrita from Johnson, Iowa. Kai from Pacifica, California Ezra from Richland, Washington Sawyer from Germantown, Maryland Andrew from Knoxville, Tennessee Finn and Rowan from Portland, Tennessee Cedar from Bend, Oregon Noah and Ethan from Denver Leonard from Vancouver Audrey and Emily from Clive, Iowa Lucas from Liberty Hill, Texas Mia from Minneapolis Freddie from Strasburg, France Kade and Luke from Casper, Wyoming Miles and Ethan from Edina, Minnesota Scion from Christchurch, New Zealand Hazel from Seattle, Seattle Danny from New Jersey Connor from Arroyo Grande, California LC Logan and Beckett from Mount Victory, Ohio Mila from Victoria, Australia Hazel and Margo from San Francisco Otis from Seattle Emerson from Arizona Alana from Lutherville, Maryland Isaac from Beaverton, Oregon Matias from Ottawa Silas from Texas Peyton from Berthoud, Colorado Leon from Seattle Shumo from Singapore Vivian from the UK Will from Tamworth, Australia Fenn and Robin from Acme, Washington Charlotte from Oshkosh, Wisconsin Dylan from Smyrna, Georgia Miles from University Park, Maryland Ian from Pozo Blanco, Spain Tobias, Matthias and Adelie from Markham, Ontario Jimmy from Somerville, Massachusetts David from Powell River, British Columbia Bahar from Tehran, Iran Aldo from Charlotte, North Carolina Addie from Seattle Dax from Calgary, Alberta Nova from Houston, Texas Penny from Oregon Frankie from Campbellford, Ontario Hamza from Melbourne, Australia Lizzie from Orange Park, Florida Nora from Nixon, Texas Scarlett and Hazel from Manassas, Virginia Eleanor and Oscar from Burying in, Washington Ayrton from Mankato, Minnesota Eva from Atlanta, Hazel from Brooklyn, New York James, Anna and Julia from Hillsborough, Oregon Ira.

[Anna Goldfield]

From Austin, Texas and Quinn and Lucy from Houston, Texas. We'll be back next week with an extra special episode. We'll answer some of your Is it true that questions like is it true Vikings wear helmets with big horns? And is it true that dogs can't see as many colors as humans? Mints.

[Tyler]

Thanks for listening.