#ML suggests all that relaxing #whale song might just be human-esque gossiping
"Contextual and combinatorial structure in #spermwhale vocalisations," was undertaken by MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (#CSAIL) researchers and #ProjectCETI. The team used a relatively simple #machinelearning algorithm to analyze the communicative sounds #spermwhales make, thought to be a system of fixed messages – are actually much more complex than previously thought.
https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/09/ai_whale_language/

Woah. From a Washington Post article.yesterday:

"The sperm whale clicks reach the equivalent of about 170 decibels in the ocean, as loud as a shotgun blast. Sounds above 120 decibels can cause immediate damage to the human ear, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Amazing demonstration of perseverance and technology.

Not surprising.

Scientists are starting to decode what #spermWhales are saying

Researchers have discovered a kind of “sperm whale phonetic alphabet” embedded in the strings of “click” sounds the #whales use to communicate and hunt.

#research
#GiftLink
#GiftArticle
https://wapo.st/4dsUBvo

#SpermWhales drop giant poop bombs to save themselves from #orca attack
https://www.livescience.com/animals/whales/sperm-whales-drop-bubble-of-poo-off-western-australia-to-prevent-orca-attack

"In this demonstration of defense defecation, the pod formed a circle with their heads together, and the whales fanned their tails in unison — forcing their excrement toward the unsuspecting #orcas... the sperm #whales looked distressed and exhausted. However, their fecal warfare worked, and the orcas swam off in search of fresher waters."

Sperm whales are known to fling their poop at unsuspecting attackers, a display called 'defense defecation'.

Orcas covered in scars left by 'cookiecutter sharks' may be new population, study says
https://phys.org/news/2024-03-orcas-scars-left-cookiecutter-sharks.html #biology #marine #orcas #CookieCutter #sharks #Offshore #pod #SpermWhales

Sperm whales drop giant poop bombs to save themselves from orca attack
https://www.livescience.com/animals/whales/sperm-whales-drop-bubble-of-poo-off-western-australia-to-prevent-orca-attack
#SpermWhales #PoopBombs #Orcas #attack #defecate #defense

#Orca group seen hunting ocean's largest predators
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/new-killer-whale-orca-population-hunting-predators-1.7149194

Evidence for an Oceanic Population of #KillerWhales (Orcinus orca) in Offshore Waters of California and Oregon https://www.aquaticmammalsjournal.org/article/evidence-for-an-oceanic-population-of-killer-whales-orcinus-orca-in-offshore-waters-of-california-and-oregon/

"A group of 49 #orcas has been seen hunting #SpermWhales, elephant #seals, #dolphins and even a #LeatherbackTurtle as far as 300 kilometres off the coast of #California and #Oregon... And it seems the killer #whales haven't been studied before"

#Shark-bitten #orcas in the Northeastern Pacific could be a new population of killer whale
https://phys.org/news/2024-03-shark-bitten-orcas-northeastern-pacific.html

Evidence for an Oceanic Population of #KillerWhales (Orcinus #orca) in Offshore Waters of California and Oregon https://www.aquaticmammalsjournal.org/article/evidence-for-an-oceanic-population-of-killer-whales-orcinus-orca-in-offshore-waters-of-california-and-oregon/

"#UBC researchers believe a group of killer #whales observed hunting marine #mammals including #SpermWhales, as well as a sea #turtle, in the open #ocean off #California and #Oregon could be a new population."

How #FirstContact With #Whale Civilization Could Unfold lead by #ProjectCETI; If we learn to speak their language, what should we say?
#SpermWhales are planet’s largest-brained animals, and their nested social structures are immense. About 10 whales swim together full-time as a unit. They will sometimes meet up with others in groups of hundreds. All of the whales in these larger groups belong to clans that can contain as many as 10,000
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2024/02/talking-whales-project-ceti/677549/
No Paywall https://archive.ph/BlYVI

These #Whales Still Use Their #VocalCords.
Unusual experiments on organs recovered from three carcasses suggest how #baleen whales call out at #sea. #Toothedwhales, like #spermwhales and #dolphins, use their larynges like a cork to seal their airways; they evolved a way to produce sounds in their nasal cavities instead. But #scientists suspected that filter-feeding #baleenwhales, including the musical #humpbacks and huge #bluewhales, still use their voice boxes. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/science/whale-song-voice-box.html?unlocked_article_code=1.XE0.Ohuo.tSXoT0veB5Lc&smid=url-share