Whale Songs Have a Profound Impact

A really concise and swift interview with Roger Payne, the founder of Ocean Alliance, in the Guardian spells out the depressing news about whales. Japan hunts whales under the guise of science; the Japanese are pretty much the world's demand for whale meat; the International Whatever Commission is powerless; toxins are piling up in whales.

Let's focus on the fascinating and beautiful. Here Payne talks about the sounds whales make.

"What has pleased me most is the reaction that people still have when they hear the sounds of whales. Nobody is prepared for it. Whales seem to be communicating in what I think of as emotional communication.

The songs of whales have a profound impact on many people. A lot of people weep when they hear them. And they can't even tell you why they have wept, except they say it just seems so sad. And many times it does."