Nearly three decades have passed, yet the mystery of this unusual sound continues to intrigue scientists.
In the North Pacific Ocean, there exists a whale. Of course, there are countless whales in those vast waters. However, this particular whale is extremely unique. It is a male whale of the blue whale or fin whale species. No one can be certain, as no one has ever seen it. Mysterious and invisible, this whale is famous worldwide for being the loneliest whale on the planet.
On December 7, 1992: A year after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War between the US and the USSR, the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station (USA) still stood. The Pacific Ocean remained the same—a vast, limitless sea, extending beyond the runway named after William Ault, a pilot who perished in the Battle of Coral Sea during World War II, whose body was never recovered—proving one thing: The ocean “devours” humanity and makes them immortal beneath its deep waters.
But in those late days of 1992, something finite appeared in that naval air station: A strange sound with an unusual frequency of 52 Hz.
The sound emanated from a creature moving through the Pacific waters. It was “singing” a solitary, high-pitched tune.
Upon analyzing the spectral image of this mysterious creature, American oceanographers predicted it to be a massive blue whale (30 meters long, weighing about 180 tons), emitting a frequency that no other whale species could hear. They named it 52 Blue (or 52 Hertz Whale).
American oceanographers predicted it to be a massive blue whale. (Source: Washington Post)
To humans, 52 Hz is a low sound—similar to the lowest note of a tuba—but it is high for whales. Typically, whales “sing” to navigate, find food, communicate, and search for mates. Their songs can be heard by fellow whales even thousands of miles away, as long as they share the same frequency. Blue whales emit frequencies ranging from 10 to 39 Hz, while fin whales emit around 20 Hz (equivalent to the lowest notes on a piano).
The song emits a frequency that no other whale species can hear. It is unusually high. And it is also extraordinarily lonely.
No one is certain why 52 Blue sings at this unusual frequency. Some biologists speculate that this whale may be deformed in some way or a hybrid of two whale species.
Since no other whales can hear its calls, the scientific community decided to listen to 52 Blue more closely. Although it may be lonely in the ocean world, it is not without the love of scientists and humanity. The scientific community listens and tries to “respond” to it.
The area where 52 Blue was discovered by oceanographers in the 1990s. (Source: Washington Post).
Not only does it emit high frequencies, but 52 Blue’s journey is also very unusual. In 2004, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution published a paper about 52 Blue in a journal called Deep Sea Research, stating that 52 Blue continuously traveled across the deep waters of the central and eastern North Pacific basin. It undertakes the widest journey compared to any whale species in the world.
Most other whale species typically migrate to the same area each year: moving to tropical waters in winter and to colder waters in summer.
However, 52 Blue is different. Its migration changes from year to year, and it does not spend much time in one place. Sometimes it returns along the coastline it has just traversed. In another season, it swims out to deeper waters.
It is precisely because of 52 Blue’s unpredictable, aimless preferences that, to this day, no scientist has ever found or seen it. All that humans know about the 52 Blue whale is its high-pitched, melancholic yet proud song.
Looking at the convoluted paths on the map of 52 Blue, scientists cannot help but wonder: What is 52 Blue searching for?
There are still many mysteries about 52 Blue that scientists have yet to solve.
Since discovering 52 Blue in 1992, the scientific community still cannot fully understand this “legend of the deep blue sea.” “We cannot comprehend 52 Blue. Is this whale lonely? People love to imagine a gigantic creature, year after year singing a solitary tune that no fellow creature hears. But is it really true that 52 Blue is alone in the vast ocean? Or is it that 52 Blue does not exist and is merely a “ghost” of the ocean? It remains ambiguous.”
This is easily explainable, for until now, no one has ever seen or searched for 52 Blue. In other words, no one has ever laid eyes on it. 52 Blue is not just the largest, loneliest creature on the planet; its story serves as a metaphor for loneliness.
52 Blue is not just the largest, loneliest creature on the planet. (Source: Internet).
One of the efforts to find 52 Blue comes from Josh Zeman, a filmmaker who created a documentary titled “52: The Search for the Loneliest Whale in the World.”
Among the themes, director Josh Zeman highlights the modern loneliness and how people react to the story of 52 Blue in the digital age, where the internet promises to connect millions online yet can actually isolate us further.
However, not only is it a metaphor for loneliness, 52 Blue also conveys a message of optimism: Nearly three decades after humans discovered its sound message, 52 Blue continues to sing in the deep ocean. It tirelessly calls out to its kind and embarks on its unusual journey to find companionship. Hope that one day nature will respond.
Still, what humans understand about this giant creature is nothing. The label of “loneliness” that many attach to 52 Blue—does it hold any truth? Is it really true that 52 Blue is alone in the vast ocean? Or does 52 Blue even exist, or is it merely a “ghost” of the sea? All these questions have been raised for over 30 years, and we can only continue to wait for answers.
[The human hearing threshold ranges from 20 to 20,000 Hz. Frequencies below 20 Hz are called infrasound. Frequencies above 20,000 Hz are called ultrasound.]
