52hz
For decades now, scientists at the NOAA have been tracking a mysterious whale song that sounds like the ghostly howls of a drowned tuba player. The sounds have been identified as belonging to a single whale, who sings at a frequency unlike any other whale in the world.
Dubbed “52 Hertz” after the frequency range in which he typically sings, the animal has been called the loneliest whale in the world, since his love songs seem destined to go unanswered. Most other species of baleen whale, such as blue whales and humpbacks, sing at frequencies much lower, between the 15-25 Hertz range.
Not only does 52 Hertz sing at a much higher frequency, but his calls are also shorter and more frequent than those of other whales. It’s as if he speaks his own language– a language of one. Even stranger, 52 Hertz does not follow the known migration route of any extant baleen whale species.
He sings alone and travels alone.
Could this individual be the last of a previously unknown species of baleen whale? That’s one possibility. Whale biologists have also proposed that he could be malformed, or maybe a rare hybrid– perhaps a blue whale and fin whale cross.
Whatever the explanation, 52 Hertz is one of a kind.
There’s also some evidence that he is maturing, since his voice has deepened slightly since the Navy first identified him in 1992, according to a 2004 article at the New York Times.
Although 52 Hertz’s exact age is unknown, he continues to survive 20 years after his initial discovery. He was last recorded not far off the Aleutians and Kodiak Island, according to Alaska Dispatch– which is also the closest he has come to land since first being tracked. You can view a zigzagging map of his migration routes between 1992 and 2004 here*.
You can also hear recordings of 52 Hertz’s calls at the NOAA here*, and you can even compare how he sounds to other baleen whales*.
While whale lovers may lament the mournful tale of the loneliest whale in the world, there is some reason for hope, too. 52 Hertz seems to be healthy, in spite of his loneliness.
“The fact that this individual has been capable of existing in that harsh environment [for so many years] indicates there is nothing wrong with it,” said Dr. Kate Stafford, a researcher at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle, to the New York Times.
The whale’s resilience could also be viewed as inspiration to anyone with a lonely heart. Despite 20 years of bellowing unanswered hymns into the cold echoes of the North Pacific, he sings on.
A famous Zen Koan asks: What is the sound of one hand clapping?
Perhaps it resonates in 52 Hertz.
Source: Facebook posting
Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:
If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
Wow…the 52-hertz whale is an individual whale of unidentified species which calls at the unusual frequency of 52 Hz. It is a tale of a solitary whale that vocalizes at a unique frequency of 52 hertz, which no other whale did. This pitch is a higher frequency than that of the other whale species. For years scientists have been tracking him on and off. Its truly a unique call ,the only one of its kind detected anywhere. This whale had been swimming and calling into the void , hoping there is a reply that never comes. Because of this, the animal has been called the loneliest whale in the world. Interesting discovery in 1989 and has been intermittently tracked by scientists ever since.
Thank you Rinpoche for this wonderful sharing.
Wow ……. A lonely unusual whale of unknown species has been swimming in the Pacific oceans for years. In 1989 the US Navy picked up some strange signals and sounds that caught their attention. It sings a song like no other. Its seem that this unique whale has been wandering all alone across the Pacific Ocean, crying out in a sound frequency that is so high, for companionship that never comes or respond. The last survivor of an unidentified species, and just wandering even if it still lives till today. Well ….looks like it’s one of the animal ‘s great mysteries in the world. Marine mammal researchers ,scientists , marine biologist are incredibly excited to make this research a reality in search of the mysterious whale for more details and so forth. This amazing whale who calls out at a frequency no other whale can understand, and to study why this happens.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this interesting article.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article. It is really sad that when spoken voice unheard, being ignored by own species. I can’t imagine how 52 lived in its life time. This makes me think of, sometimes words and advice that come out from our parents mouth unheard. Still, at least our parents know we are there. What about those old folks who were chased out by their families and sleep on the street? Their voice unheard, they’re being ignored by their own kind (family), and in many cases, they’re being ignored by their own species (people who walk pass them everyday, but no one notice them), just like this whale 52. They will die quietly in a corner due to old age. Yes, to this whale maybe he is born “abnormal”, which is different from his same kind. But, if we relate it with our human life, many voices are unheard, although some are not born mute. It is actually happening around us daily, we just don’t notice it. _/\_
Nobody has ever seen 52 although scientists have heard his songs while monitoring underwater sounds. It is believed he could be a rare hybrid of a blue and fin whale, singing a mating song only he can understand.
Many across the world are very touched by this story of a solitary creature swimming through the oceans who can’t seem to connect with his own species. What I find more intriguing is that, according to Christopher Willes Clark of Cornell University, “Blue whales, fin whales and humpback whales: all these whales can hear this guy, they’re not deaf. He’s just odd.”
Luckily, thanks to crowd-funding, filmmaker Josh Zeman and actor and producer Adrian Grenier now have enough funds to mount a small oceanographic expedition to the North Pacific to find, track, and ideally tag and follow 52.
I have read Grenier’s interview, and what he said is powerful, “One of the most important parts of communicating is to be able to listen, and turn your own intention off, to try and understand another being — another human being or in this case trying to put ourselves in the shoes, or fins, of a whale and trying to understand what it’s going through. Part of our quest is not only seeking to go outward but also inward, and trying to listen and understand what we’re missing, not hearing, misunderstanding — not only about what the whale is saying but the whole of the oceans might be saying that we’re ignoring or not really comprehending.”
Compassion is the wish for others to be free of their suffering and the causes for their suffering, just as we wish the same for ourselves. When we expand our minds by turning our attention to the problems of others, we stop thinking of only ourselves. When we focus on how wonderful it would be if others are free of suffering – the wish for them to be happy, it will trigger our own potentials for happiness to ripen.
Thank you Rinpoche, the blog team and Pastor Shin’s comment to make me think deeper from the story of 52.
52 may be just one of the odd being in the world, I believe there are millions of being living in their own world, without us knowing their existence or whether they need help or not. I agree with what Pastor Shin says that we can practise compassion to focus out, and wishing for all beings to be free of sufferings whether they can hear us or not. It somehow make our life more meaningful than just focus on only us.
I wish 52 well (the definition of well in 52’s sense might be just being alone), and may beings that even losing the ability to communicate with others stay in happy state, may they have chance to meet Dharma.
Thank you.
Humans too can be lonely at times, but what’s more worst than what this unique baleen whale is going through? I can’t imagine myself living a life where no one hears me, talks to me or plays with me, this whale is living in a total isolation, it’s pretty scary when we really think about it. However, he is such a strong and beautiful living being, though he has been lonely for so many years, he still continues to strive and lives it’s life to the fullest. Animals too can be depressed and some will even choose to end their own lives as they are just like all of us, they have feelings too.
We live in a technological era that is congested with frequencies and noise pollution yet among us is this whale that is isolated by frequency.
I can see many aspect of this story that applies to human community. If we are different from others, usually we are also more isolated and alone. This does not have to be good or bad. Plenty of very successfully people, geniuses and people with rare and unique talents could face similar communication issues that isolate them from the mass public.
In general communication is the key to living in a community. Failure to communicate isolates us and I’m not referring to verbal only.
The story of this whale is so amazing. Although it is lonely and its cries cannot be heard, it continues with the cries. It shows that despite the lonely cries of 20 over years, but it still continues to call for the other whales. The perseverance of it is admirable although it is saddening that it is so lonely.
We are being bombarded by frequencies mostly at 50 Hertz and in some countries 60 Hertz from the pervasive power grid. Even all our electrical items in the home emit these frequencies. In fact I was told some time ago by a music professor that today, if you ask a group of people to hum a note, they will more often than not as a group, settle at 50 Hertz. Such is the pervasiveness and power of 50 Hertz.
This whale could have somehow lived as a young whale near a very strong 50 Hertz power grid source or it could have had recent human imprints from a previous life I would hypothesize.
This whale is one of a kind. What a strange yet compelling story. Thank you for sharing.