have been found to overlap in time; (iii) in some recordings (not reported or diagramed here) we find two complete songs that differ in average volume (indicating two whales, one near and one distant), each progressing in its own rhythm and form with no obvious relationship to the other. An example of a distant whale singing may be seen in the spectrograms, not the tracings, of the second and third themes of the second song of whale II. Here the loudest sounds of a distant whale's phrase 6 are detectable. In addition, some of Payne's 1969-1970 tapes include several whales producing sounds at once. In some cases (presumably when the hydrophone was roughly halfway between two whales), two sound sources are at equal volume, but analysis reveals that both sources are rendering complete songs. Neither whale seems to depend on the other for any phrases or notes. In many cases, one of the sources stops while the other continues repeating complete songs. None of our observations absolutely excludes the possibility that songs are actually duets between whales swimming very close together. (Pairs or trios of humpbacks are frequently observed near Bermuda, and they are often in bodily contact when traveling together.) But if the whales are duetting, they are very precise in their alternation of sounds and unfailingly wait their turn to add their own notes. Sex of the Performing Whale On the question of whether songs come from males, females, or both, we have nothing yet to offer. It is possible that there will prove to be significant differences between the vocal apparatus of males and females. However, since we are not really sure that the larynx Fig. 11. Upper left, "finning"; remainder of left column, "lobtailing" (two pictures separated by one-half second-the dorsal fin of a nearby whale just starting to dive is prominent). Right column, three pictures (by R. M. Johnson) of a humpback "breaching," showing the impressive splash that follows. Frames are about one-half second apart. produces these sounds (though it seems likely that it must be involved), we would not even know what part of a humpback corpse to examine if we had one (and we have never had one). Mature male humpback whales are smaller than mature females, but, because there is so much overlap in size, it is only on very favorable occasions at sea that one could hope to determine the sex of a given whale. In addition, it has been our experience that humpback whales stop singing when we get close enough to distinguish subtle differences in their morphology. [Levenson (6) reports the same difficulty, as does Schevill (2), although Schevill's remarks are restricted to Odontocetes.] It will take a very fortunate occasion indeed to see whether males, females, or both sexes produce the songs. Other Species The songs we have described are often sung very loudly (a detailed discussion of the theoretical consequences of this is in preparation); therefore, one need not be within viewing range of the source to record the songs. Although this makes recording easy, it raises the constant specter that we have tried too hard to find similarities between songs recorded on different occasions near Bermuda. It is also possible that we may, in fact, be lumping together vocalizations of more than one species. As mentioned earlier, there is good evidence that finback whales produce their moans in set patterns, and Cummings and Philippi (13) have evidence of cyclic sounds from what they believe to be a right whale (Eubalaena glacialis). If their species determination is correct, it could mean that singing is a common form of Mysticete vocalization. For this reason, also, we advance the possibility that we may have combined the sounds of a stray right whale or some other species with true humpback sounds. The large number of humpback whales in the vicinity of Bermuda during April and May (the only months from which our analyzed records were taken) and the apparent lack of right whales in that area at the same time (with the exception of one pair that Payne observed 25 miles southwest of Bermuda on 13 April 1970) argue against this concern. Yet the possibility remains that some other species have been included with our data on humpbacks. Possible Significance of the Song Schevill (2) notes: "The sonorous moans and screams associated with the migrations of Megaptera past Bermuda and Hawaii may be an audible manifestation of more fundamental vernal urges, for in New England waters and at other seasons we do not hear anything nearly so spectacular from this species." The implication here is that courtship is seasonal. However, there is good evidence, from measurements of embryos collected by whalers, that, even though most successful humpback matings occur during two peak seasons each year, some matings do occur throughout the year (14). Mating, of course, does not always immediately succeed courtship in all species. Even if some humpback pairs mate yearround, it is quite likely that courtship activities leading to pair formation are seasonal. In this case, the songs may be related to pair formation. The playful behavior of humpbacks near Bermuda in April and May has suggested to some observers that they are courting. The whales slam their tails on the surface of the water (lobtailing), wave and slap their fins on the water (finning), and frequently and repeatedly jump (breaching) (Fig. 11). However, since these activities are frequently observed at other latitudes and at other times of year (8, p. 288; 15), they do not seem to be particularly linked with singing. If we wish to consider such antics, as well as songs, part of courtship, then we might conclude that the songs are involved with seasonal pair formation, and the acrobatics with year-round mating. Of course, if pair formation occurs year-round, such theories have no meaning. Winn (16) has heard and recorded humpback songs near Puerto Rico in February, so the songs are apparently sung for at least 3 to 4 months. Thus, if songs are part of pair formation, we would expect it to be a lengthy process lasting from midwinter until well into spring. In the North Atlantic, this time period (February to May) also corresponds to northward migration. Thus, one might imagine that the songs serve as a sort of flock call to hold a loose cluster of individuals together during their long migration. Until there is further evidence, we can only guess what function this remarkable series of vocalizations serves. Summary 1) Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) produce a series of beautiful and varied sounds for a period of 7 to 30 minutes and then repeat the same series with considerable precision. We call such a performance "singing" and each repeated series of sounds a "song." 2) All prolonged sound patterns (recorded so far) of this species are in song form, and each individual adheres to its own song type. 3) There seem to be several song types around which whales construct their songs, but individual variations are pronounced (there is only a very rough species-specific song pattern). 4) Songs are repeated without any obvious pause between them; thus song sessions may continue for several hours. 5) The sequence of themes in successive songs by the same individual is the same. Although the number of phrases per theme varies, no theme is ever completely omitted in our sample. 6) Loud sounds in the ocean, for example dynamite blasts, do not seem to affect the whale's songs. 7) The sex of the performer of any of the songs we have studied is unknown. 8) The function of the songs is unknown. References and Notes 1. H. L. Aldrich, Arctic Alaska and Siberia (Rand McNally, Chicago, 1889), p. 35; C. Nordhoff, In Yankee Windjammers (Dodd, Mead, New York, 1940). 2. For a review of this area see W. E. Schevill, in Marine Bio-acoustics, W. N. Tavolga, Ed. (Pergamon, Oxford, 1964), pp. 307–316. 3. B. Patterson and G. R. Hamilton, in ibid., pp 125-145. 4. W. E. Schevill, W. A. Watkins, R. H. Backus, in ibid., pp. 147-152. 5. N. A. Mackintosh, The Stocks of Whales (Heighway, London, 1965), pp. 119, 201. 6. C. Levenson, Informal Report No. 69-54 (Naval Oceanographic Office, 1969). 7. O. W. Schreiber, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 24, 116 (1952). 8. A. G. Tomilin, Mammals of the U.S.S.R. and Adjacent Countries, Volume IX, Cetacea, O Ronen, Transl. (Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem, 1967), p. 270. 9. W. E. Schevill and W. A. Watkins, Whale and Porpoise Voices (a phonograph record accompanied by a booklet) (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 1962). 10. R. Payne and K. Payne, in preparation. 11. W. B. Broughton, in Acoustic Behavior of Animals, R. G. Busnel, Ed. (Elsevier, London, 1963), pp. 824-910. 12. W. A. Watkins, in Marine Bio-acoustics, W. N. Tavolga, Ed. (Pergamon, Oxford, 1967), pp. 15-43. 13. W. C. Cummings and L. A. Philippi, Publication No. NUC TP 196 (Naval Undersea Research and Development Center, 1970). 14. Tomilin (8, p. 280) bases his claim (that mating Occurs year-round) on 68 humpback fetuses collected during whaling operations in the North Pacific. By extrapolating from embryo lengths, he calculated conception dates and, thus, the number of humpbacks conceived in each month: January, 1; February, 9; March, 12; April, 14; May, 4; June, 3; July, 1 August, 1; September, 12; October, 8; November, 3; and December, 0. Although two periods of increased mating activity are apparent, they are not sharply defined. Yet, even from such a small sample, we see that successful matings have occurred in 11 out of 12 months. 15. W. E. Schevill and R. H. Backus, J. Mammalogy 41, 279 (1960); R. G. Van Gelder, Amer. Mus. Novitates 1992 (1960), pp. 1-27; anecdotal observations of many authors. 16. H. Winn, personal communication. 17. Research was supported, in part, by NSF grant GB 5564 and by grants from the New York Zoological Society. We thank M. Konishi, P. Marler, and F. Nottebohm for letting us use their sound analysis equipment and K. Payne and E. D'Arms for helping us with the spectrography. We are particularly grateful to Frank Watlington of the Palisades Sofar Station, St. David's, Bermuda, for so generously making tape recordings available to us. 67-765 - 71 32 [From The Washington Evening Star, Aug. 21, 1971] YOUTHS RIDE WHALE HERD TO SAFETY BOCA GRANDE, Fla. (AP)-Teen-agers swarmed into shallow waters yesterday and rode a herd of beached whales piggyback to safety in the Gulf of Mexico. The impromptu rescue effort put the mammals back on course at least temporarily. All but two of the 47 whales were lugged and coaxed back into deeper waters, said Sgt. Robert Patterson of the Florida Marine Patrol. The two died, he said. The black, snub-nosed sea creatures, 8 to 20 feet long, swam slowly down the gulf, but darted inland again near the south tip of this swanky winter resort. Officer Don Ellingsen said they wallowed around in shallow waters for about two hours until a squall hit and drove them out. The whales started beaching on Gasparilla Island here around daybreak, said Lee County Deputy Sheriff Johns Knight. Teen-agers in floppy hats, t-shirts, blue jeans and sandals, raced into the footdeep waters where the mammals were stranded, jumped aboard some and guided them to safety. Marine officers in boats lassoed others by the tail and towed them to deeper areas. "People weren't afraid," Knight said. "They went right into the water to steer them off shore." "The whales flipped their tails and knocked some of the kids down," said Joe Warner, an observer. "But they didn't seem hurt. They got right back up." He said about 30 onlookers, mostly tene-agers pitched in on the rescue effort. Scientists at the Florida Department of Natural Resources said they don't know why the whales beach themselves. 'It seems to be a suicidal tendency," one commented. He said similar phenomena have occurred on the Atlantic Coast and the Florida Keys, but he didn't know of any previous occurrences on the Gulf Coast. Mrs. STEVENS. The song of the humpback whale is probably familiar to the members of the committee and that has been recorded by Roger Payne, one of the authors of the article about the humpback whale. This is a new approach scientifically to the study of marine mammals. Dr. Schevill, who gave testimony this morning, has also recorded the whale songs and other sounds and it has been done for some time but the work of Roger Payne is probably the most advanced in this area and you may be looking at the back pages of that article and you will see the sound all portrayed visually. Mr. Chairman, the Society for Protective Legislation is deeply grateful to the chairman and members of the Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee for holdings these thorough and extensive hearings on sea mammals, creatures remote from most of us, but having an enormous and unexplained fascination for human beings. The view has been expressed that when the entire story of the evolution of homo sapiens is discovered, some phase will be related to life in the sea. Those mammals, which, like ourselves, produce only a single offspring at a time, and which have such remarkably well developed brains are possible candidates for a case of, at the very least, parallel development with our own. Clearly the dearth of scientific literature on the living mammals of the oceans makes all theories purely speculative, but as you have stated. Mr. Chairman, we are dealing with animals "some of whom may be at least as intelligent as man." At these hearings, which are the most interesting I have ever attended, we have learned that sea lions and seals are capable of using the money principle which, theretofore, has I believe, only been tested on the great apes, man's nearest known relatives. We have all heard of the chimpomat which chimpanzees use to get the grapes they want for the plastic discs they earn, but until the testimony submitted on behalf of the Sea Mammal Motivational Institute, I certainly was not aware that pinnipeds could rival chimpanzees in this respect. Dolphins and porpoises have been called the intellectuals of the sea, but it would appear that even the lesser brains among the sea mammals outshine the majority of terrestial species. For a long time the distinction which was supposed to separate man from the other mammals was his ability to use tools. This distinction, like others previously suggested, collapsed in recent times in the face of scientific evidence evidence of the simplest kind: observation of animals such as chimpanzees and sea otters. At these fascinating hearings we learned that the southern sea otter uses not only the stones with which it has been cracking shell fish on its chest since primeval times, but also pop bottles and beer cans which come to hand so easily today in the ocean's depths as on the face of the earth. Scientific descriptions of man as "the tool-using animal" remained unchallenged for so long because insufficient observation of animals in their natural environment had been made, and because the use of tools does seem to be an indication of superior intelligence. Certainly, the sea otter qualifies for a rating at the very highest part of any scale which might be drawn up for many of those qualities which we consider most admirable in human beings. To see in the film "The Sea Otters of Amchitka," a mother sea otter with her enormous pup, seemingly bigger than she at 12 months or more of age, but still, in her eyes, in need of affectionate care, is an experience which encourages one to take an optimistic view of life despite growing evidence for pessimism. This mother works hard, diving for shellfish but never objects when her huge offspring takes the succulent morsel from her mouth. She works. He eats. Finally, he falls asleep, floating comfortably on his back. She preens her fur ready for sleep herself, then thinks she had better take his head up onto her chest. She guards him in his sleep, a marvel of maternal kindness and solicitude. Do the majority of women who have worn the skins of such creatures as these equal them in tolerance, amiability, devotion and selfsacrifice? Though that question may be better left unanswered, the women who wore these skins in the past may be excused because they did not know what we know now. A question which should be answered, however, is whether the Congress should permit the reestablishment of a luxury fur trade using the skins of animals of this calibre. It is said that the furs they produce are the most beautiful in the world, but what would be the character of the human being who would be willing, knowing the life history and behavior of the typical sea otter, to deck herself in a garment made of sea otter skins? We would suggest that in the management of an animal such as the sea otter, the development of techniques to control fertility would be called for in any instance in which it can be firmly established that an otter herd has exceeded the carrying capacity of its range. Such techniques have been developed for the control of pigeon populations in cities and have had limited trials with respect to predator control. They should be expanded for use in the management of sea mammals, especially in areas where undue influence of a commercial nature is likely to be exerted to the detriment of the animals. There is no incentive to apply fertility control unless it is clearly necessary. The point made by Charles Callison of the National Audubon Society concerning the qualifications of individuals to be recommended by the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality for appointment by the President to the Marine Mammals Commission, is one with which we in the Society for Animal Protective Legislation agree most strongly. Not only do we fear, as he does, that "the fur industry or other commercial and industrial interests whose purpose is exploitation, not conservation" will demand representation on the small, threeman Commission, but we fear that some scientists who have what amounts to a vested interest in the killing of sea mammals because of the nature of their specialties and jobs, might exert an unduly great influence. It has been suggested that a broader base which would give the concerned public a substantial voice in decisions should be provided. At the very least, and this is what we suggest, the qualification for Commissioners should be as broad as that specified for the scientific advisory committee. (See recommendations on contents of legislation.) There is a scientific "new wave" which does not depend upon carcasses for its data. The lead article in the August 13 issue of Science required no killing of the humpback whales who are its subjects. Because of the importance of this article, I wish to submit it for the use of the subcommittee. Far more scientific effort should, indeed must, be devoted to the study of living mammals of the sea in their natural environment. This will require open minds, the putting aside of often repeated techniques which have already yielded the bulk of the information they are capable of eliciting. Some of these techniques have already demonstrated their inherent weaknesses. As Dr. Ray pointed out in previous hearings, the age of all the whales of the world suddenly doubled when scientific views changed. (It is significant that it was a 5-year cessation of whale killing during the war which showed the then established scientific data to be off by a factor of 2.) The study of the dead, like the study of close captives, belongs to a period from which we seem to be at last emerging. As the fear of losing the animals, the plants, the air, and the water that we have so long taken for granted comes over us, young scientists have appeared to use the scientific method in ways my generation would not have considered or even thought of. This subcommittee has heard testimony from a few of them, but there are more some who cannot be located within a reasonable period because they spend much of their time at the bottom of the sea. I would like to quote from the opening of a book by one of these oceanographers, Robert Stenuit, author of "The Dolphin, Cousin to Man." He quotes from Aesop (600 B.C.); Oppian (second century, A.D.); the New Zealand Gazette, 1956; and Isvestia, 1966. Two of these quotations will convey the idea clearly. Oppian writes: It is an offence to the Gods to hunt dolphins, and he can no longer approach the Gods to offer a sacrifice nor touch their altars with pure hands, who of his own will has been the cause of the destruction of dolphins. He makes impure even those living under his roof, because the gods hold the massacre of the monarchs of the depths to be as execrable as the murder of a human. M. Alexander Ishkov, Minister of Fisheries of the U.S.S.R., writes: The capture of dolphins is henceforth prohibited in all the territories of the Soviet Union ***. I believe that it will be possible to preserve all dolphins. |