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.
By Bryan Nelson
2004年12月紐約時報報導過這隻世界上最寂寞的鯨魚
從1992在北太平洋被軍用潛艇偵測器發現的這條種類不
不像其他任何長鬚鯨或藍鯨，不同的是，他沒有朋友。沒有
當其他的鯨魚用12到25赫茲的低音頻溝通,他唱著52
所以沒有其它鯨魚可以聽到他------
從[52赫茲]被人類發現追蹤到現在已經過了20年,根
也許給所有感覺到寂寞的人安慰鼓勵:
即便沒有回應,[52赫茲]仍然繼續歌唱
「52赫茲」世界最寂寞鯨魚 歌聲只有自己聽得見
ETtoday – 2012年7月7日 下午3:42
國際中心／綜合報導
美國國家海洋暨大氣總署(NOAA)數十年來都在追蹤海底的一個聲音，它聽來像是鬼魂的嚎叫，也像是低音號的鳴奏。其實這個神秘聲音來自一隻名為「52赫茲」的鯨魚，由於牠的歌聲太獨特了，獨特到只有牠自己聽得見，因此至今仍無法找到伴侶。
「52赫茲」的名字取自於牠唱歌的頻率，牠與同類有所不同，一般鬚鯨亞目皆是以較低的頻率，約15至25赫茲在唱歌；可是牠卻是用頻率高出許多的52赫茲，就這樣唱著只有自己聽得見的歌，成為世界上最寂寞的一隻鯨魚。
有科學家猜測，「52赫茲」是一種未知的鯨魚；也有人說，牠是因為出現基因變異，或是稀有的「混血兒」，才會發出與眾不同的歌聲。無論如何，牠確實是獨一無二的。1992年，「52赫茲」首次在北太平洋被潛艇發現，現在牠至少已有20歲，早就進入繁殖的年齡。
儘管2004年美國《紐約時報》曾經報導過牠，讓牠在人類世界相當出名，但是這些名聲並未傳到鯨魚的世界。唯一值得歡欣的是，牠的身體目前仍然相當健康，或許正在海洋某處，繼續唱歌尋找牠的女朋友。
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