These whales are also known to vary their tunes from year to year, but just how many songs they have in their repertoire, or why they exhibit this behaviour at all remains unclear.
This is exactly what co-author of the new research, Kate Stafford of the University of Washington in Seattle, US, hopes to uncover.
Bowhead whale songs are thought to be social calls or some sort of a reproductive fitness display. What's clear is that whales can learn these songs from each other.
Magical world
"Bowhead whales are unique among all other whales in that they change their songs within and between years," Stafford told BBC Earth.
"It would be really great to understand not only why they sing but why they sing so many different songs."
That they are so different intrigues Stafford. The four known bowhead whale populations, for example, have never been observed singing the same songs, though she cautioned that it was still a relatively new field of research.
These whales are also known to vary their tunes from year to year, but just how many songs they have in their repertoire, or why they exhibit this behaviour at all remains unclear.This is exactly what co-author of the new research, Kate Stafford of the University of Washington in Seattle, US, hopes to uncover.Bowhead whale songs are thought to be social calls or some sort of a reproductive fitness display. What's clear is that whales can learn these songs from each other.Magical world"Bowhead whales are unique among all other whales in that they change their songs within and between years," Stafford told BBC Earth."It would be really great to understand not only why they sing but why they sing so many different songs."That they are so different intrigues Stafford. The four known bowhead whale populations, for example, have never been observed singing the same songs, though she cautioned that it was still a relatively new field of research.
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