Never been found but still touched the world with a secret lasting 30 years
In the North Pacific Ocean there is a whale. Of course, in that vast ocean there are countless whales. But this whale is very different. It is a male whale of the genus Blue whale or fin whale. No one can be sure, because no one has ever seen it. Mysterious, invisible, this whale is still famous around the world, as it is the loneliest whale on the planet.
The whale is never heard
In 1989, scientist William Watkins of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (USA) while working in the Pacific Ocean accidentally discovered a strange sound. The sound emitted by a moving creature in the water has an unusual frequency of 52 Hz. So they named it 52 Blue, or 52 Hertz Whale.
Analyzing the spectral images of the mysterious creature, oceanographers then predicted it to be a whale about 30m long, weighing about 180 tons. It is unusual, as it can only emit sounds that cannot be heard by any other whale. Other whale species, such as blue whales, have a call frequency of 10 – 39 Hz, fin whales are around 20 Hz. The whale’s 52 Hz sound is strangely high-pitched, and gives it ultimate solitude.
The high-pitched sound that separated 52 Blue from the world
For humans, 52 Hz is a low sound but for whales it is too high. Whales are social creatures, they need to “sing” to navigate, forage, communicate and find mates. Their cries, even 3,000 miles away, can still be heard by their fellow humans, as long as they have the same frequency. That means 52 Blue never got a chance to be heard by his fellow humans. It was destined to live alone.
“Loneliness or trying to make a connection that has never been answered is one of humanity’s greatest fears. We’re social creatures. Whales too. They have rhomoid cells. , so they know how to love, hate, become part of a certain social circle.But 52 Blue is denied that opportunity.“said filmmaker Josh Zeman, who made a documentary about 52 Blue.
After more than 3 decades of becoming a big question of the scientific world, experts still cannot explain why 52 Blue sounds at this unusual frequency. The most widely accepted theories are that it was deformed, or was a hybrid of two species of whale.
The journey to find the loneliest whale in the world
Since no other species could hear 52 Blue, the scientists decided to listen to it, trying to “respond” to it.
Not only has the high frequency sound, the 52 Blue’s journey is also very unusual. In 2004, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution staff published a report on 52 Blue that said it moved continuously across the deep waters of the central and eastern North Pacific basin. This solitary whale is making the widest voyage of any whale in the world.
The big blue area is where 52 Blue was found
Usually, whale species all migrate to the same areas each year, namely to tropical waters in winter and to colder waters in summer. But 52 Blue did not choose that path. Its course changes from year to year and is never in one place for too long. It is always wandering, going around the four directions, even though that journey is always lonely without any companion.
52 Blue is always alone on an endless journey and keeps moving forward
It is because of 52 Blue’s hobby of going aimlessly, unpredictably, that to this day, no scientist has ever found it, seen it. All people know about the 52 Blue whale is its high-pitched voice that is both tragic and arrogant.
Because of its own special story, 52 Blue has been “poeticized”, becoming a symbol of lonely people who feel disconnected from the world and an inspiration for many works of art. art. It appears in songs about loneliness, in books about loneliness. From 52 Blue, people even “paint” the story of optimism, that despite being alone, it always bravely continues to live, continues to find connection with the world.
Even so, what humans understood about this giant creature was still nothing. Is the “lonely” label that many people attach to 52 Blue true or not? Is 52 Blue really alone in the deep ocean? Or even 52 Blue really exists or is just a “ghost” of the sea? All these questions have been asked for over 30 years, and we can only continue to wait for the answers.
Source: Washington Post
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