Oldest known whale song recording may reveal secrets of ocean life
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A haunting whale song discovered on decades-old audio equipment could help scientists better understand how whales communicate and how the ocean’s soundscape has changed over time.
The recording captures the song of a Humpback whale and was made in March 1949 near Bermuda.
Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, Massachusetts, say it is the oldest known recording of whale song.
Scientists say the recording is valuable not only for the whale sounds themselves but also for the background noise of the ocean at the time.
According to marine bioacoustician Peter Tyack, the ocean in the late 1940s was far quieter than it is today. “The recordings not only allow us to follow whale sounds, but they also tell us what the ocean soundscape was like in the late 1940s,” Tyack said, adding that such conditions are difficult for researchers to reconstruct today.
Researchers believe the historic recording could help scientists study how modern human-made noise — including increased shipping activity — affects whale communication.
Studies by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have shown that whales often adjust their calling behaviour depending on noise levels in their environment.
The recording also predates the famous discovery of whale songs by Roger Payne by nearly two decades. At the time, Woods Hole scientists were testing sonar systems during a research mission with the U.S. Office of Naval Research when they captured the unusual sound.
Although researchers did not know what they were hearing, they decided to record and preserve it. The sound was stored on a disc created using a Gray Audograph, a dictation machine commonly used in the 1940s. The disc was rediscovered during a project to digitise archival recordings led by Ashley Jester.
Whale sounds — including clicks, whistles, and songs — are crucial for communication, navigation, and locating food in the vast ocean. Humpback whales, which can weigh more than 55,000 pounds (about 25,000 kilograms), are especially known for their complex and often haunting vocalisations.
Scientists say the rediscovered recording could provide a rare window into how whales communicated in a quieter ocean and help researchers better understand the challenges these marine mammals face today.