I went down a bit of a rabbit hole the other day after seeing some incredible nature photography of sperm whales, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
I learned that they talk to each other using these rhythmic clicks called ‘codas.’ They use them for everything – foraging for food deep in the ocean, chatting with family, even helping each other during childbirth. It’s a whole complex language happening completely out of our sight.
The part that really stuck with me, though, is how our noise is affecting them. The ocean is getting louder and louder from things like shipping and drilling, and new research from Project CETI suggests it’s actually changing their conversations. It’s not clear if they’re talking *about* the ships, but just the idea that we’re interrupting them and forcing them to change how they talk is… a lot to sit with.
It really makes you think about our footprint, even in the places we can’t see. If you want to learn more, look up the work they’re doing.
Photograph by @brianskerry
Video by @projectceti
