Whale culture

culture. B So far, humpback and killer whales provide the best evidence of culture in cetaceans, and the song of the male humpback is among the most striking examples. Humpback populations in different oceans sing different songs, but within the same ocean they all stick to the same one. However, during the breeding season the sounds change, as it appears that females are drawn to novel songs. One male might add an extra set of groans; another might drop a series of grunts. Soon all the other males have altered their own rendition to incorporate the changes until they are once again singing the same song. Since this occurs among thousands of whales spread across a vast part of the planet, the change cannot be in response to any factor in the animals’ environment. The latest version of the song can be learnt only from other whales - almost certainly by imitation. C Culture plays an even bigger part in the life of killer whales. Nowhere is this more obvious than along the north-west coast of America, where killer whales are split into two distinct populations - ‘residents’ and ‘transients’. They live in the same stretch of water, but they don’t mingle. In effect, they belong to two quite separate cultures. Residents live in…