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Herman Melvile, the writer of the famous whale story Moby Dick, once wrote that humpback whales were "the most lighthearted of all the whales." Known to be intelligent animals and can be seen working together to hunt schools of small fish, humpbacks are a favorite of whale watchers everywhere. And, if you listen closely, you might even hear one singing.
Marine (海洋) biologist Jim Darling has studied the songs of humpback whales for more than 25 years. While recording whale songs on a boat near Hawaii, he invited author Douglas Chadwick to experience diving with a humpback. In the water, Chadwick heard the whale's songs in a way he never heard them before. "Suddenly, I no longer heard the whale's voice in my ears," he said. "I felt it inside my head and bones." When swimming with the whale, Chadwick could see that the whale was aware of him, but not alarmed by his presence. Up in the boat, Darling recorded the whale's song, which can be long and complex, sometimes lasting for 30 minutes or more. Actually, they are perhaps the longest songs sung by any animal.
Darling says that only male humpbacks sing, but for unknown reasons, it was previously thought that they sang to attract females, but scientists showed this was incorrect when they played recordings of whale songs in the ocean and the female whales did not respond. Another idea is that male humpbacks compete with each other using songs, just as other male animals on land do using their horns or sharp teeth.
Researchers have also found that humpback whale songs are different in different parts of the world, perhaps like whale national songs. They may also be like hit tunes on the radio, changing over time—from one year to the next, or even over a single breeding season when they produce young.
Another member of the research team, photographer Flip Nicklin, recalls a special moment he had while interacting with a humpback. While he was snorkeling(潜水) some distance from the huge animal, it approached him until it was just a few metres away. It then gently carried Nicklin towards its eye with a flipper(鳍肢), as if examine him. Obviously, the urge to understand a different species goes both ways.