Study Contradicts Belief That Whales Learn Songs from One Another
Published:18 Feb.2021 Source:University at Buffalo
Humpback and bowhead whales are the only mammals other than humans thought to progressively change the songs they sing through a process of cultural learning.
But maybe the humpbacks are no longer part of that trio. Humpbacks might be singing songs that are not as "cultured" as once assumed. A new study by a University at Buffalo researcher is directly contradicting the widely accepted cultural transmission hypothesis suggesting that whales learn their songs from other whales.