The World’s Loneliest Whale

The 52-Hertz Whale

In 1989 an array of US Navy hydrophones, called SOSUS,  picked up some unusual sounds off the coast of California. SOSUS’ job was to detect enemy submarines but these sounds appeared to be whale songs with one big difference. These ‘songs’ were record at 52 Hertz, an unusual frequency for whales. Blue whales sing at 10 – 40 hertz and fin whales sing at 20 hertz. As of 2004, the whale was detected every year since 1989. In 1992, following the end of the Cold War, the SOSUS recordings were made available for oceanographic research.

It seems as though this is the only whale that sings at 52 Hz. The question arises as to what kind of whale it is – a blue whale, a fin whale. or some kind of hybrid. There is speculation that this whale is in search of a mate and this is his love song. But is there another one out there? Is he the world’s loneliest whale? In 2013, the Express, a British tabloid newspaper, claimed that the whale’s unusual call had “stopped him finding love“.

There are currently plans underway to produce a documentary about “52”.  American filmmaker Josh Zeman has established a kickstarter campaign to raise funds to mount an expedition in the fall of 2015. He hopes to locate and film this extraordinary whale. He has a monumental task ahead of him – it’s like finding a needle in a very large haystack.