This week was a bit light in the interview department so I decided to change it up. Let’s explore the mysteries of cross-breeding sea life. 

Can whales and dolphins mate with different species without the hand of science helping? Do they require the tiny petri dish of a mad scientist or can they form bonds all by themselves? Let’s explore how whale’s communicate in the the depths of the ocean.

In 2011 National Geographic did a story of a new hybrid whale discovered in the Arctic, a cross between a Northern Minke Whale and an Antarctic Minke Whale. With the two hemisphere having opposite seasons scientists never expected the Minke Whales to meet let alone mate. But with the advances in DNA testing, scientists have found they do meet and mate. The Northern Minke Whale (pictured), the world’s loneliest whale, was first heard in 1989 on SOSUS, an array of hydrophones the US Navy built to detect enemy submarines. They had picked up strange signals that ended up being whale songs. They were similar to blue whales songs but there was one big difference.

Blue whales, Fin whales and Humpback whales all could hear this whale’s song, but never answered. They were not deaf just never spoke like the mysterious whale. So the odd whale sang alone looking for a mate that most likely never was. Some scientists believed that the 52 Hz whale was a hybrid of a Blue whale and a Fin whale, which was not uncommon (Fin whales are smaller than Blue whales). The key notes were at a frequency of 52 Hz. To us humans it sounds like a low bass note, but it’s much higher than that of a Blue whale, which sings between 10 and 42 Hz. Fin whales were unlikely, since they sing at 20 Hz. The mysterious whale has been slowly dropping it’s song – today it is at 47 Hz.

Since 2009 more and more whales have been changing their songs. In 2015, off the Coast of California more whales were heard singing at the 52 Hz range. Some feel the whales are deepening their songs to be able to stand out against the shipping and oil digging sounds, which are threatening to drown them out. Hunting them to find out what they eat also plays a large role in loosing the whales, hybrid or not. They reproduce so slowly that maybe hybrids will become more and more common in the wild with younger whales finding it harder and harder to find a mate. The mysterious whale has never been seen only heard, so no one is truly sure what type of whale it is.