The Tale of the 52-Hertz Whale: The Enigmatic Solitary Creature with Its Unusually Loud Song

[Article déjà publié le 28 mars 2024]

Nicknamed 52 hertz in reference to the abnormally high frequency at which this whale sings, it is today a symbol of despair for many people.

The North Pacific Ocean, its fauna and flora… and its mysterious whale

Characterized by its deep sea, between 6,000 and 8,000 meters deep, the North Pacific is made up of a large marine trench formerly called the Tuscarora Trench to the east of the Japanese archipelago.

There is an exceptionally rich fauna: humpback whale, beluga, walrus, harbor seal, bottlenose dolphin… The Pacific Ocean, whether in the north or south, contains a true underwater universe, with its occupants. and its legends…

Among them, the strange story of the solitary whale. Knowing the facts, one could almost think of a horror story. Some people have heard her sing, without ever seeing her. A melancholy song, which haunts the vast blue lands of the North Pacific Ocean and continues to question for decades.

The mystery of the lone whale

Based on the records collected, we know that this “ghost whale” is a male. But what species is it? The mystery remains. It could very well be a humpback whale, a blue whale, or even a hybrid! All scenarios are possible. It remains to find the answer, impossible without having a sight of the mysterious singer.

If this solitary whale raises so many questions, it is because solitude is not exactly a usual condition for these immense cetaceans. Indeed, whether for the search for food, socialization or protection against potential predators, whales, particularly humpback whales, prefer to stay among their fellow species.

52 hertz and a missing companion

The solitude of this whale is not its only distinctive mark. Indeed, the nature of his singing itself is unusual. In fact, it produces a very high sound, much more than most of its peers for which the frequency varies between 15 and 25 Hz. This whale in question emits a sound recorded at 52 Hz, and sings longer and more frequently than its congeners.

According to the association It's Enough!, which fights against the exploitation of cetaceans and free or captive marine animals, this sound was first spotted in 1989 by William Watkins of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He was then studying the mating calls of whales in the Pacific.

Now, it is the US Navy's sophisticated hydrophone system, originally designed to monitor potential Soviet nuclear submarines during the Cold War, that would regularly come across the frequencies of the lone whale's song. It is known that each year it moves from central California to the Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific.