Eavesdropping on an Elusive Animal

There are 24 known species of beaked whales, but only three or four of those have been well studied. Beaked whales are known to be very difficult to study due to their deep-sea residency and reclusive behavior. Scientists have grave concerns about how many beaked whales are living. These creatures were fiercely hunted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Government of Canada, 2011), and it is thought the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 caused their populations to decline by as much as 83 percent (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2025)

Recently, a team of researchers used underwater acoustic technology to learn more about the diving behavior of the enigmatic whales. At a depth of approximately 3,500 feet, the echolocation clicks of three different species of beaked whales were recorded, then used to create 3D reconstructions of the whales’ movements. This was possible through measurements of tiny differences in the arrival times of the clicks at the sensors. The goose-beaked whale, Gervais’ beaked whale, and Blainville’s beaked whale were identified by the differences in the acoustics of their clicks.

Data revealed that each species of beaked whale searched for food at different ocean depths – indicating they feed on different types of prey. The information assists researchers in their understanding of where and how deep beaked whales dive. This, in turn, helps scientists estimate how populous they are, as well as keep track of how resilient they are to human stressors.

References

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2025). Deepwater horizon – BP Gulf of America oil spill. US EPA.

Government of Canada, Environment (27 April 2011). “Recovery Strategy for the Northern Bottlenose Whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus), Scotian Shelf population, in Atlantic Canadian Waters – Species at Risk Public Registry”.

Hobson, M. (2026, February 4). Researchers sink listening devices 1,100m deep off the Louisiana coast and hear the sounds of an elusive animal. Discover Wildlife.