Are whales sensitive to sound?
Some hear high-pitch frequencies up to 100 kilohertz (kHz), which is about 80 kHz higher than the upper limit of human hearing. This sensitive hearing makes them particularly susceptible to loud blasts of sound in the ocean.
' Anthropogenic noise can change a whale's behaviour, such as causing the marine mammals to feed less or to produce fewer calls. Shipping noise also cause whales to become stressed, with the build-up of stress related chemicals linked to growth suppression, lower fertility and poor immune system function.
Research has even shown that some orcas will simply give up hunting when it's too noisy for them – killer whales use echolocation to navigate, so loud noises make it hard for them to eat.
Whales hate sonar, explosions, and other human-made noise.
Human activities, including hunting, pollution, and injuries from massive ships can kill whales. Other causes of death may be old age, starvation, infection, complications giving birth, or becoming beached.
Tactile. Anatomical studies and observations of behavior indicate that a killer whale's sense of touch is well developed. Studies of closely related species (common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, and false killer whales) suggest that the most sensitive areas are the blowhole region and areas around the eyes and mouth.
Rothenberg says, “beluga whales have always been interested in human music, so much so that they'd hang around boats when sailors were singing. Their songs contain so much sonic diversity that they can be turned into almost anything.
Sound is Critical to a Whale's Wellbeing
A whale's world is full of sound. Marine mammals, including whales, use underwater sound as their primary way to communicate and assess their environment. Sound is critical for communication, and important for navigation, finding food, and avoiding predators.
Introduction. Threats to whales include commercial whaling, pollution, ozone depletion, global warming an whale watching.
Selbmann says that in the majority of the interactions documented around Iceland, killer whales seem to avoid pilot whales. Occasionally things will get heated and the pilot whales will chase the killer whales at high speeds, with both species porpoising out of the water.
What are whales biggest enemies?
Whales basically have two enemies: Orcas (killer whales, which in fact are not whales, but dolphins) and human beings. Only one type of Orca, the transient orca, is known to attack whales and other marine mammals. Transients Orcas are sometimes referred to as "wolves of the sea" as they will hunt in packs.
Orcas, also known as killer whales despite being members of the same family as dolphins, are apex predators who are known to feed on nearly every species of large whale.
