During the height of 2020’s lockdown, the ocean went silent as giant freights, shipping cargoes, and fleets of fishing vessels stalled in ports across the world. Stirring beneath the waves, however, was a strange and beautiful melody that hadn't been heard so clearly in decades— the songs of whales. Whales form powerful bonds with one another and constantly communicate through breaching, singing, and emitting short, ear-splitting bellows. It must have been a bewildering and joyful time for such a social animal to suddenly have clear channels of communication with one another. Soon, however, the industrial world fired up its engines, and even the largest of the leviathans were silenced once more. One of the greatest threats to our ocean’s recovering populations of sperm whales, humpbacks, and other great cetaceans is boat strikes and noise pollution. Creating marine protected areas and especially underwater corridors helps limit boat traffic and gives whales the chance to find peace. #whales #humpbackwhale #bluewhale #savethewhales