Whales are known for their songs. However, experts say some of those that still have natural predators will often sing extremely low notes to remain stealthy.
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00:00Whales are some of the largest and most majestic creatures on the planet.
00:09However, that doesn't mean they're at the top of the food chain.
00:12Some species of baleen whale are actually prey to orcas or killer whales.
00:16Baleen whales are marked by the whale bone sieves in their mouths,
00:19their filter feeding system which allows them to eat large amounts of krill.
00:22Those whales are also known for their whale songs,
00:25but now experts say some species will often sing extremely low notes
00:29to remain stealthy against their orca predators.
00:36Experts say these songs resonate through the depths at frequencies below 100 hertz.
00:40So low, in fact, the orca's ears cannot even pick them up.
00:43According to the researchers, this family of whales is broken up into two groups,
00:48fight and flight varieties.
00:49They say that the ones that often fight back have more maneuverability and
00:54and those groups tend to have higher frequency calls.
01:01Meaning those that are known to be preyed upon more by orcas
01:04have likely developed their stealthy songs as a defense mechanism.
01:07With the marine experts adding that the whales of the flight species
01:10sing in a way that maximizes the number of females that hear them
01:13while minimizing how many predators hear the same song.