White whales have a distinctive feature apart from their bright white appearance that sets them apart from other whales, which is the round bulge on their heads. This protrusion is not just a lump of flesh; it is a powerful organ that allows white whales to control its shape to adjust the sound it emits for communication purposes.
Reported by IFLScience website, white whales, like dolphins and killer whales, belong to the whale family and share some familiar characteristics such as a large tail fin, flippers, and a blowhole, but what truly catches attention is the massive lump on their head.
According to Jaclyn Aubin, a doctoral candidate at the University of Windsor in Canada who studies white whales, the bulge on the white whale’s head is not just a mass of fat. It is composed of various types of tissues, including muscles, connective tissues, and fats with different densities and acoustical properties.
These fats play a crucial role in sound communication and echolocation, responsible for focusing and projecting the sounds emitted by white whales. Several facial muscles and connective tissues can alter the shape of the bulge on the head, allowing white whales to adjust their way of vocalizing, perhaps to produce more focused and directional sounds.
A short video taken in front of an aquarium shows a white whale manipulating its head bulge while communicating with its companions. Apart from adjusting their voice, changing the shape of the bulge on their heads may serve other purposes.
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Aubin mentioned that while changes in the shape of the head bulge of white whales can affect their vocalizations, they may also be using it to send visual signals to other white whales. They observed that particularly lively male white whales significantly expand their head bulge, indicating that the shape of the bulge can provide clues about their emotions and behavioral states to other white whales.
This complexity in white whale communication is another example. Scientists have previously known that white whales communicate with calves in a baby talk manner and use sound to guide the group, which is especially useful when the calves begin to wander around.
Aubin stated, “The vocalization of white whales is highly complex. We still do not fully grasp all types of their vocalizations, let alone understand the functions of most calls. One well-known vocalization is the contact call, used by white whales to maintain group cohesion, and mother and calf use it to maintain intimacy.”
The National Geographic magazine pointed out that when white whale calves are born, they have a gray or even brownish color, gradually fading to white as they reach sexual maturity around 5 years old. Their unique coloration makes them one of the most common and easily recognizable types of whales.
Compared to other whale species, white whales are relatively small, ranging from 13 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters) in length. They have a rounded forehead and lack a dorsal fin.
White whales are social animals that typically live in small groups. They are adept at using sound for communication, emitting various sounds like whistles and being able to mimic a variety of other sounds.
White whales feed on fish, crustaceans, and worms. This type of whale is commonly found in the coastal waters of the Arctic Ocean and is also present in the sub-Arctic waters.
Earlier, it was reported by Epoch Times that in 2019, Norwegian fishermen discovered a white whale displaying unusual behavior in the Barents Sea, one of the marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, wearing strange harnesses and occasionally approaching fishing vessels. Some experts believe that this white whale might be part of a “special forces” training program conducted by the Russian military.