The study is the first published research analysing the calls of long-finned pilot whales in the Southern Hemisphere, which were recorded in the Great Australian Bight, off WA and SA, between 2013 and 2017.
The study is the first published research analysing the calls of long-finned pilot whales in the Southern Hemisphere, which were recorded in the Great Australian Bight, off WA and SA, between 2013 and 2017.
The research, published in Scientific Reports, also found evidence of ‘duetting’, which is common in birds and primates but very rarely reported in aquatic mammals, and which suggests the whale’s sophisticated acoustic communication system is more complex than previously thought.
Lead author Rachael Courts from Curtin’s Centre for Marine Science and Technology said the study of long-finned pilot whales off southern Australia showed what appeared to be mimicry of a call of the Australian killer whale.
“This mimicry may be a clever strategy employed by the whales in order to disguise themselves from predators including killer whales. It may also allow them to scavenge food remnants from killer whales, undetected,” Ms Courts said.
Read more at: Curtin University
Photo Credit: Efraimstochter via Pixabay
