Listening with Whales

If humpbacks whales are pseudo-Wagnerians with their infinite themes and never-ending performances, dolphins’ musical production is more similar to American modern experimentalism, with some exceptions. With their clicking sounds, whistles, and squeaks, these intelligent beings conduct lots of their communication at frequencies way beyond humans’ acoustic range. Yet, humans have successfully been able to (partially) understand their modus operandi by analyzing the relationship between their sound production and societal organization. For example, clicking noises are used especially for echolocation and navigation, “yelps” express courting activities, and “squeaks” are yelled when in danger. More romantic are sounds similar to the noise that a finger rubbing against a balloon makes, which are produced by dolphins touching each other when in pleasurable company.