Seals are making 'Star Wars' noises at each other underwater, and we have no idea why

[Judi Lynn]

By Brandon Specktor - Senior Writer 20 hours ago

They chirp, whistle and trill like droids — and scientists are hearing it now for the first time.



A diver in Antarctica's McMurdo Sound observes a Weddell seal swimming toward him.
(Image: © McMurdo Oceanographic Observatory)

Above water, they sound like bellowing Wookies. Below the ice, they sound like chirping, chattering robots. Either way, the Weddell seals of Antarctica should have no trouble finding work in an upcoming "Star Wars" project.

"The Weddell seals' calls create an almost unbelievable, otherworldly soundscape under the ice," Paul Cziko, a visiting professor at the University of Oregon and lead author of a new study describing the bizarre seal sounds, said in a statement. "It really sounds like you're in the middle of a space battle in 'Star Wars,' laser beams and all."

The catch: You'd have to be an alien (or droid) to hear them; all of those sci-fi sounds are totally inaudible to human ears. Cziko and his colleagues were able to detect the otherworldly noises after two years of listening to Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) with a special hydrophone (an underwater microphone) installed in Antarctica's McMurdo Sound in 2017.

Before the researchers started recording, scientists knew about the 34 seal calls audible to human ears. Now, the team's research — published online Dec. 18 in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America — adds nine new types of ultrasonic calls to the seals' repertoire. Those sounds include trills, whistles and alien-sounding chirps, sometimes composed of multiple harmonized tones.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/weddell-seal-ultrasonic-star-wars-noises.html

[42bambi]

1. Amazing work and pictures! Thanks for posting. nt

[soothsayer]

2. Those sounds are completely worth a listen

Thanks for posting

[Sanity Claws]

3. May the Force be with them!

[Jirel]

4. Oh, lordy. We know why.

Like most other species, they're communicating all the important things like "There are fish here." We make stupid assumptions and stupid clickbait headlines. Animals talk. It should be no surprise that a mammal that spends so much time in the water is going to have different vocalizations for communicating under water.

Which is WHY the researchers were recording underwater. They were 100% sure that the seals communicate differently under water - they just wanted to actually listen and record for the first time.