Long-lived bowhead whales found singing over 180 different songs

Bowhead whales are mysterious, Arctic-dwelling creatures. Scientists believe they can live for over two centuries, and even so, they largely avoid getting cancer. In the 1990s, an old stone spearhead — a weapon that hadn’t been used since the 1800’s — was found embedded in a bowhead whale’s blubber. That whale had apparently survived a hunter’s attack, over a century earlier. 

Now, marine researchers say they’ve recorded bowheads singing an unprecedented number of songs. The marine mammals seem to be altering their songs each year, similar to how a jazz musician is constantly improvising.

“If humpback whale song is like classical music, bowheads are jazz,” Kate Stafford, an oceanographer at the University of Washington, said in a press release.  Read more…

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Source: Mashable | Long-lived bowhead whales found singing over 180 different songs