The 1980s: Starting to Listen
Interest in killer whales continued to grow, and researchers braved inhospitable conditions and a lack of funding to learn more about these animals. The next major discovery was that each community of orcas uses distinct calls. Different communities cannot understand each other. Further, different pods within a community have different dialects: distinct tonal qualities which can be used by researchers to identify pods. Initially researchers thought that certain calls could be matched with certain behaviors, but this has not borne out.
Ear Exercise
Researchers distinguish separate calls by pitch and length. With enough practice, they can recognize specific calls just by listening and even tell which pod they are hearing. Now it’s your turn to try! Listen to the three calls shown. These are common calls and each one was made by a different pod. Then listen to the mystery call. Can you tell which of the three it was?
Changes in Repertoire
Researchers have observed that the repertoire of calls the Southern Residents use changes over time, with calls dropping out of use or new calls appearing. This chart is based on recordings of J Pod. Chart supplied by Monika Wieland.
The Whale Museum: Increasing Knowledge
In 1983, The Whale Museum, generously funded by the McDowell family, took responsibility for the lighthouse at Lime Kiln Point State Park and turned it into a research lab. Since 1990, Robert Otis has conducted research on whale and vessel interaction from there, aided by the hydrophone installed in 1984. Hydrophones are underwater microphones used to record whale calls. In 2015, The Whale Museum installed a listening station at the Park which streams the hydrophone, located just offshore, live at the touch of a button so that visitors can listen to whales.