The discovery of the oldest known whale-sound recordings adds a rare, dated snapshot of how marine animals vocalized at sea decades ago, before rising human activity reshaped the soundscape. The work, described by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists, centers on a humpback whale “song” recorded in March 1949 off Bermuda and preserved in a way that, researchers say, helped the material survive for later study.
Woods Hole scientists said the recording came from a research effort that included testing sonar systems and doing acoustic experiments, along with the U.S. Office of Naval Research, aboard a vessel at the time. They said the team captured the humpback whale sounds when conditions were quieter than the modern ocean’s increasingly crowded underwater acoustics, creating a baseline that could be useful for comparing whale communication across eras.
The “numbers” framing around the finding includes timing comparisons to other well-known whale-song research. Woods Hole scientists said the 1949 recording predates the discovery of whale song by almost 20 years and also predates scientist Roger Payne’s discovery of whale song by nearly 20 years. The researchers said that longevity mattered because they preserved the audio on a plastic disc rather than tape, even though they recorded it with what they described as crude audio equipment.
The discovery also comes with context about what whale sounds do in the wild. Researchers said sound plays a critical role in whales’ survival and in how they socialize and communicate, and they said whales’ sounds take forms such as clicks, whistles and calls. They added that whale sounds can help animals find food, navigate and locate each other, and understand their surroundings.
The story’s broader comparison points to how the underwater acoustic environment has changed. Scientists said some parts of the ocean are about 10 times louder than they were in the 1960s, citing research from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the mid-2000s that found underwater noise off southern California had increased tenfold compared with the 1960s. In that context, the Woods Hole researchers said the 1949 recordings come from a quieter ocean and could help scientists better understand how newer human-made sounds, such as shipping noise, affect whale communication.
The humpback whale itself is often singled out for its musical reputation. Researchers said the humpback whale is possibly the most accomplished vocalist in the ocean and noted that the animal can weigh more than 55,000 pounds (24,947 kilograms). They also pointed out that humpback whale songs have been recorded for human listening and said an album titled “Songs of the Humpback Whale” sold more than 100,000 copies.
The AP report said Roger Payne produced that album in 1970, during the early years of the environmental movement, and described it as the best-selling environment album of all time. The report also said the record helped spark a global movement to end the practice of commercial whale hunting.