Last October, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to wade into the battle over whether then president George Bush should be able to override a federal judge after that judge ruled that the US Navy would have to modify its use of sonar in training exercises held off the Southern California coast because of compelling evidence that the sonar did harm to whales.
Yet, despite mounds of data showing that sonar was causing whale deaths, in a 6 to 3 decision, the Supremes decided for the Navy and against the whales, the most recent version of centuries worth of conflict between whales and humans.
Still, in the view of many naturalists, the fact that the Supreme Court had been willing to hear the case at all was a welcome step forward. Moreover, after the decision the Navy agreed to do more to protect the whales when conducting its exercises.
Now, says Charles Siebert, writing for the NY Times Magazine, some biologists are beginning to believe that whales might be rewarding the more benign attitude that our species has had toward theirs in the past string of decades by consistently seeking us out in a way that seems…..relational. The huge creatures seem to want contact.
The phenomenon is most notably occurring, writes Siebert, in a particular area of Baja California.
I should note that Siebert occasionally tends to romanticize the great cetaceans that are considered to be among the planet’s most intelligent non-human mammels. But the story he tells of biologists perplexed by this suddenly friendly whale behavior is nonetheless fascinating.
Here are a few clips.
Scientists have now documented behaviors like tool use and cooperative hunting strategies among whales. Orcas, or killer whales, have been found to mourn their own dead. Just three years ago, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York discovered, in the brains of a number of whale species, highly specialized neurons that are linked to, among other things, the use of language and were once thought to be the exclusive property of humans and a few other primates. Indeed, marine biologists are now revealing not only the dizzying variety of vocalizations among a number of whale species but also complex societal structures and cultures.
Whales, we now know, teach and learn. They scheme. They cooperate, and they grieve. They recognize themselves and their friends. They know and fight back against their enemies. And perhaps most stunningly, given all of our transgressions against them, they may even, in certain circumstances, have learned to trust us again.
[HUGE SNIP]
“I don’t anthropomorphize,” [marine mammal behavioralist named Toni Frohoff] told me. “I leave it to other people to do that. What I do is study gray whales using the same rigorous methodologies that have long been used to study the behaviors of other species and interspecies interaction. Those who would reject out of hand the idea that whales are intelligent enough to consciously interact with us haven’t spent enough time around whales.”
[BIG SNIP]
I thought of another bit of interspecies cooperation involving humpbacks that I recently read about. A female humpback was spotted in December 2005 east of the Farallon Islands, just off the coast of San Francisco. She was entangled in a web of crab-trap lines, hundreds of yards of nylon rope that had become wrapped around her mouth, torso and tail, the weight of the traps causing her to struggle to stay afloat. A rescue team arrived within a few hours and decided that the only way to save her was to dive in and cut her loose.
For an hour they cut at the lines and rope with curved knives, all the while trying to steer clear of a tail they knew could kill them with one swipe. When the whale was finally freed, the divers said, she swam around them for a time in what appeared to be joyous circles. She then came back and visited with each one of them, nudging them all gently, as if in thanks. The divers said it was the most beautiful experience they ever had. As for the diver who cut free the rope that was entangled in the whale’s mouth, her huge eye was following him the entire time, and he said that he will never be the same.
It is worth reading the rest of this enchanting article.
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UPDATE: Both Siebert and biologist Toni Frohoff are interviewed by Terry Gross on today’s Fresh Air. The audio just now went up. I’m listening as I type. Give yourself a treat when you have time. It’ll cheer you up, I promise.
Hearing about members of two different species reaching out to each other makes the world and all of its problems seem like a slightly more manageable place.
Why isn’t Obama doing something about California earthquakes that drive dozens of giant squids to die on the shore? At least Bush had national defense issues to consider.
And, why is Toni Frohoff studying gay whales?
Avast Woody! Methinks you’ve swallowed too much sea water, are delirious. Or maybe you’ve sailed uncharted water and heard the Sirens, driven mad by their wail? Take heed matey, those giant calamari you claim to have perished by the CA earthquakes are known to be the last of a species of mermaid, and they’re not dead merely morphing into a new vocal group that Joe Jackson is rumored to have under contract.
Now, we have to read about the split-up of gay penguins.
Same-sex penguin couple split (in San Francisco, of course)
From the post above:
“I don’t anthropomorphize,†[marine mammal behavioralist named Toni Frohoff] told me. “I leave it to other people to do that.
To accomodate her from the article:
Enter the widow Linda, who began courting Harry in her partner’s old burrow shortly after his death this past winter, Brown said.
“To be completely anthropomorphizing, Linda seems conniving,” Brown said. “She’s got her plan. I don’t think she was wanting to be a single girl for too long.”
I know that Celeste likes animal stories.
But I digress. Thanks for posting such an informative and heart-rending piece, Celeste. These sweet natured Leviathans are surely non partisan creatures, and for that ya gotts love em.
Woody is affected with a high degree of intellectual independence (crazee-ness).
Penguins: The headwaiters of the Antarctic.
And nothing more Woody.
GJ, This article reminded me that I need to take a trip to Baja in whale watching season. Always meant to do it, but have not gotten around to it. Next early winter for sure.
Celeste – I grew up in Santa Cruz. 20 miles North at Davenport we’d sit on the cliffs, picnic, and watch the Grays on their trek South to where you’re going. They epitomize what seems like one of last spectacles of true freedom. I really miss all that. There’s condos where we sat, and its all gated now. Go. Enjoy your trip, time’s fleeting.
What’s really fun is to watch the killer whales (those smart critters) attack and eat dolphins (other smart cetaceans). Kinda gives you the warm fuzzies.
Grays? I thought she said gay whales.
The killer whales also play “toss the seal” and kill sea lions, too. But, watch them hunt in packs: Animal Planet Video
They make underwater sounds just like our Navy! Get a judge to stop them.
Poor seal. But, hey, the killer whales were just doing their jobs as apex predators. Very cool video. Amazing critters those orcas.
And the Navy is just doing its job in protecting us. The LF sonar has been associated with a VERY small number of whale beachings (last count I saw was 8) – but the anti-Navy folks never tell you that.
BTW, if the whales are so brilliant, why do a few of them swim up on beaches and die when the sonar is turned on?
One might ask Mr. Moore as to how well he’d negotiate crowded mall traffic with a dbl. inner ear infection? I submit that the whales are under the same duress when the HARP device is activated. And your figure of (smiley face) 6 individuals beached due to sonar is skewed at best.
Gava Joe.. Got a better figure for beached whales due to sonar?
The whales are not in a traffic jam. They may experience temporary distress during the use of the sonar.
We might all experience rather more permanent distress if our navy is not able to train with (hence effectively utilize) the only sonar effective against the modern quiet diesel subs that various enemies like to use.
John, not to be picky, but read the %$#!@&$ article. This isn’t just a few beachings.
If you won’t read the long piece, read this very short piece from Science Daily.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081006112057.htm
As you can see, Chris Parsons, who is one of the main biologists tracking the beachings, isn’t anti-Navy in the least. He—and most serious people in this field—want to find methods that protect the Navy’s need to do crucial exercises and also protect the whales.
If you’re going to quarrel about this, at least read the material.
Celeste, he gives no numbers at all. I have read other articles giving numbers, and they are tiny.
The Navy already uses methods to mitigate this small problem. The lawsuits have been aimed at shutting them down entirely, regardless of what Parson’s says.