Whales tend to be loner animals when it comes to humans, so even if they are dangerous or aggressive, they rarely get close enough to people to hurt them. Most people will never get close enough to a whale to think about whether it will be friendly or dangerous to them.
Still, if you want to know how humpback whales act before you go on a Sydney whale watching tour, then keep reading!
Do Humpback Whales Communicate?
Clicks have been heard when whales interact, suggesting they might also be used to communicate. A study found that humpback whales made the biggest sound that any animal has ever been heard to make. It makes sense since whales are the largest animal we know of.
It has been found that human noise affects how blue whales call out, even when the noise is not at the same frequency the whales use to talk. A blue whale call can last between 10 and 30 seconds. People have seen them talk to each other by yelling from far away in the ocean, sometimes hundreds of miles apart. Blue whales are thought to talk to each other when they feed, need to warn each other, or try to get together.
How Humpback Whales React to People
Whales are very social creatures that move in groups called “pods.” They talk to each other by making different sounds. Whales make three main kinds of sounds: clicks, whistles, and throbbing calls.
Clicks are thought to be used to find their way around and learn about their immediate surroundings. When the sound waves bounce off an object and come back to the whale, the whale can figure out what the shape of the item is.
Whales use whistles and pulsed calls when they are being social with each other. Pulsed calls are more common. They sound like squeaks, yells, and squawks to a human ear. It has been found that different pods of whales within the same group have different “vocal dialects.” This is possibly so whales can tell the difference between whales in their pods and other whales.
Whales can also talk without speaking by hitting their tails and fins on the water’s surface. This sound, which can be heard hundreds of meters below the surface, may be a violent warning or a way to get groups of fish together so they are easier to catch.
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