Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1952-09-22
Whales Have Sonar
Just Like Navy Ships
Hieh-Frequency Sounds Echo,
Guide the Big Mammals in Dark
By T. R. Henry

Whales have q supersonic sense.
These monsters of the sea apparently
can hear sounds far too high pitched
for the human ear, or for those Of any
other mammals except bats.
1t is probably by means of this sense
that they are able to navigate at high
speeds in the dark. They invented the
Nays directional device, sonar, mil
lions Of years before man thought Of it.
Experiments to demonstrate this have
just been reported to the American As
ISOLATION for the Advancement of Sci
ence here by Drs. w. N. Kellogg and
Robert Kohler of the oceanographic in
stitute Of the University of Florida.
They worked with smaller members of
the whale family. dolphins and por-
poiSes, whose overall behavior is about
the same as those Of their giant rela-
tiveS.
They apparently can hear sounds
nearly twice as high-pitched as can
man, these scientists found. and they
alter their behavior and direction in
accordance with these sounds. Bats,
on the other hand, can hear sounds
more than twice as high-pitched as
the highest audible to man. and it is
by means Of the echoes from such
sounds that the weird flying mammals
find their way in the dark.
Also. they said, there is a high prob
ability that whales can themselves send
out such high-pitched sounds. audible
to other whales and the echoes from
which give information of obstacles
ahead.
"The inference seems unacceptable"
they report, that the porpoise, like the
bat may orient itself with respect to
objects in its environment by echo To-
cation-that is, by the reflection Of its
own sound waves. PROPOSES are excep-
tionally fast swimmers. and many va
rieties visit shallow bays and estuaries
that often are murky and turbid. They
also navigate at night. In instances
where light penetration Is low because
of sediment in the water or because of
darkness, the visual receptor would be
Of little value in locating submerged
piling, boats or ships, the ocean bottom.
or possibly schools Of fish for food.
1.-THE particular value Of ultrasonic
frequencies in this connection is that
ouCil 4LCQuCIlClco WOulu VIC 1Coo cuOJCCV
to masking by the ordinary background
noise that exists in water-such as the
sound Of waves, the rush Of water which
occurs during rapid swimming. the
sound of propellors. or the underwater
noises Of other organisms"
Whales and porpoises, they point out.
are known to make many kinds Of
sounds underwater. In the case Of one
variety which has been closely studied
these sounds can range from a low growl
or groan, In the general pitch range Of
q seals bark, to shrill whistle, almost
too high-pitched to be heard.
The whale brain is particularly
adapted to hearing and to making mi
mute sound differentiations. The area
especially devoted to sound reception.
the so-called temporal lobes, is much
larger relatively to the whole brain, than
those of any other animal. Such de-
velopment parallels the unique develop
ment of the frontal lobes. the seats Of
intelligence, in man, which also exceeds
that Of any other animal. The dog.
which depends 50 much on the sense Of
smell, has enormously developed brain
areas devoted to reception and interpre-
tation of minute differences in odors.
Whales. in other words. may not be
dumb. as generally thought. But when
they talk to each other, no other ami
NAL, including man, could hear their
talking.