How “Fight or Flight” May Affect Marine Mammal Vocalizations – April 4, 2025

Orca (Orcinus orca) in Haines, Alaska, United States. Photo credit: Christopher Michel

Scientists have proposed several hypotheses, including fight or flight (Ford & Reeves, 2008), for how killer whale (Orcinus orca) predation has influenced baleen whales and broader ecosystems.

Southern right whales have a robust body shape, with girth sometimes exceeding 60% of total body length. Image © State of Victoria (Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning).

Species considered on the “fight” list include “North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis), southern right whales (Eubalaena australis), bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), and gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) (Branch, 2025).” These species will stay and defend their calves if attacked by killer whales.

The fight species have a range of common characteristics (slow-swimming and maneuverable, thicker bodies often with encrustations) and behaviors (coordinated group defense, migrate in shallow water keeping calves close) to defend against killer whale (also called orca) attacks.

Since fight species rely on these common characteristics as protection against killer whales, they have less of a need to hide acoustically, yet they still employ this tactic, called acoustic crypsis – a behavioral adaptation to reduce detection by other animals in their vicinity, including predators. Orcas cannot detect any sounds <100 Hz and can only detect higher intensity sounds between 100 and 1500 Hz. “A review of baleen whale calling frequencies and source levels reveals that although all species are capable of acoustic crypsis, most fight populations produce calls at >1500 Hz (Branch, 2025).” Therefore, their vocalizations are easily detectable by killer whales and they seem to rely on other behaviors to protect themselves from orcas.

Species on the “flight” list include blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis), common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis), and Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) (Branch, 2025).

Flight species have streamlined bodies adapted for speed to avoid predation. They can swim quickly over sustained periods of time. Orcas pursuing flight species will need to expend a great deal of energy in a “prolonged high-speed pursuit” (Ford & Reeves, 2008), which can be a defense against killer whale attacks. However, flight species must also expend a lot of energy in their flight, and if a flight species is overtaken during the pursuit, they can do little to defend themselves.

Therefore, flight species might have more need to hide acoustically, utilizing frequencies orcas cannot detect.

A sei whale at the surface. Note the animal’s long body- due to their body length, researchers usually only capture a picture of a sei whale’s back (with dorsal fin), or its head, rarely both together. Image courtesy of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

In a recent peer-reviewed publication (Branch 2025), data presented provide support for the hypothesis that “flight species are more acoustically cryptic than fight species.”  In the graphs below, Branch presents the relationship of call frequencies between baleen whale size (maximum length of each taxon), and the upper, median, and lower frequency (Hz) of their calls.

FIGURE 1 Frequency range of calls made by baleen whale populations. Colors represent “fight” species (red), “flight” species (blue), and “unknown” reactions to killer whale attacks (orange). Thinner lines represent the entire frequency range, and thicker lines the peak frequency range. Dashed lines represent the approximate auditory range of killer whales: no hearing (<100 Hz), poor hearing (100–1500 Hz), and better hearing (>1500 Hz).

With the comparison made by Branch, a pattern can be seen where fight species primarily utilize upper frequencies audible to killer whales, while flight species generally vocalize at frequencies below killer whale hearing range.

DOSITS Links

Additional Resources

References

  • Aguilar de Soto, N., Visser, F., Tyack, P. L., Alcazar, J., Ruxton, G., Arranz, P., Madsen, P. T., & Johnson, M. (2020). Fear of killer whales drives extreme synchrony in deep diving beaked whales. Scientific Reports, 10, 13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55911-3
  • Barrett-Lennard, L. G., Matkin, C. O., Durban, J. W., Saulitis, E. L., & Ellifrit, D. (2011). Predation on gray whales and prolonged feeding on submerged carcasses by transient killer whales at Unimak Island, Alaska. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 421, 229–241. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08906
  • Best, P. B., Meÿer, M. A., & Lockyer, C. (2010). Killer whales in South African waters—A review of their biology. African Journal of Marine Science, 32, 171–186. https://doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2010.501544
  • Black, N. A., Talty, C. M., Schulman-Janiger, A., & Srinivasan, M. (2023). Mammal hunting killer whales off Monterey, California: A 30-year synthesis. In M. Srinivasan & B. Würsig (Eds.), Social strategies of carnivorous mammalian predators. Fascinating life sciences (pp. 283–333). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29803-5_8
  • Branch, T. A. (2006). Abundance estimates for Antarctic minke whales from three completed circumpolar sets of surveys, 1978/79 to 2003/04. International Whaling Commission Document, SC/58/IA18. https://open.uct.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/f6a747cd-29ce-4ef5-8ae2-c092881fe984/contentcontent
  • Branch, T. A. (2007). Abundance of Antarctic blue whales south of 60° S from three complete circumpolar sets of surveys. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 9, 253–262. https://doi.org/10.47536/jcrm.v9i3.674
  • Branstetter, B. K., Leger, J. S., Acton, D., Stewart, J., Houser, D., Finneran, J. J., & Jenkins, K. (2017). Killer whale (Orcinus orca) behavioral audiograms. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 141, 2387–2398. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4979116
  • Branstetter, B. K., Nease, K., Accomando, A. W., Davenport, J., Felice, M., Peters, K. J., & Robeck, T. (2023). Temporal integration of tone signals by a killer whale (Orcinus orca). Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 154, 3906–3915. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0023956
  • Buchan, S. J., Rendell, L. E., & Hucke-Gaete, R. (2010). Preliminary recordings of blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) vocalizations in the Gulf of Corcovado, northern Patagonia, Chile. Marine Mammal Science, 26, 451–459. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2009.00338.x 
  • Burnham, R., Duffus, D., & Mouy, X. (2018). Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) call types recorded during migration off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Frontiers in Marine Science, 5, 329. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00329
  • Cerchio, S., Jakobsen, J. K., & Norris, T. F. (2001). Temporal and geographical variation in songs of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae: Synchronous change in Hawaiian and Mexican breeding assemblages. Animal Behaviour, 62, 313–329. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2001.1747
  • Cerchio, S., & Weir, C. R. (2022). Mid-frequency song and low-frequency calls of sei whales in The Falkland Islands. Royal Society Open Science, 9, 220738. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220738
  • Clapham, P. (2001). Why do baleen whales migrate? A response to Corkeron and Connor. Marine Mammal Science, 17, 432–436. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1999.tb00887.x
  • Clapham, P. J. (2017). When it’s right to be wrong. Marine Mammal Science, 33, 966–967. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12418
  • Clark, C. W. (1982). The acoustic repertoire of the southern right whale, a quantitative analysis. Animal Behaviour, 30, 1060–1071. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(82)80196-6
  • Clark, C. W., & Garland, E. C. (2022). Ethology and behavioral ecology of mysticetes. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.13016
  • Connell, J. H. (1980). Diversity and the coevolution of competitors, or the ghost of competition past. Oikos, 35, 131–138. https://doi.org/10.2307/3544421
  • Connor, R. C., & Corkeron, P. J. (2001). Predation past and present: Killer whales and baleen whale migration. Marine Mammal Science, 17, 436–439. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2001.tb01290.x
  • Corkeron, P. J., & Connor, R. C. (1999). Why do baleen whales migrate? Marine Mammal Science, 15, 1228–1245. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2001.tb01289.x
  • Crance, J. L., Berchok, C. L., Wright, D. L., Brewer, A. M., & Woodrich, D. F. (2019). Song production by the North Pacific right whale, Eubalaena japonica. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 145, 3467–3479. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.5111338
  • Crane, N. L. (1992). Sound production of gray whales, Eschrichtius robustus along their migration route. MS, San Francisco State University, 90 pp. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.416006
  • Cummings, W. C., Thompson, P. O., & Ha, S. J. (1986). Sounds from Bryde, Balaenoptera edeni, and finback, B. physalus, whales in the Gulf of California. Fishery Bulletin, 84, 359–370. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12036
  • Cusano, D. A., Wiley, D., Zeh, J. M., Kerr, I., Pensarosa, A., Zadra, C., Shorter, K. A., & Parks, S. E. (2023). Acoustic recording tags provide insight into the springtime acoustic behavior of sei whales in Massachusetts Bay. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 154, 3543–3555. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0022570
  • Dawbin, W. H., & Cato, D. H. (1992). Sounds of a pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata). Marine Mammal Science, 8, 213–219. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1992.tb00405.x
  • Dunlop, R. A. (2022). Humpback whales: A seemingly socially simple whale with communicative complexity. In C. W. Clark & E. C. Garland (Eds.), Ethology and behavioral ecology of Mysticetes (pp. 223–246). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98449-6_10
  • Edds, P. L., Odell, D. K., & Tershy, B. R. (1993). Vocalizations of a captive juvenile and free-ranging adult-calf pairs of Bryde’s whales, Balaenoptera edeni. Marine Mammal Science, 9, 269–284. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1993.tb00455.x
  • Elemans, C. P. H., Jiang, W., Jensen, M. H., Pichler, H., Mussman, B. R., Nattestad, J., Wahlberg, M., Zheng, X., Xue, Q., & Fitch, W. T. (2024). Evolutionary novelties underlie sound production in baleen whales. Nature, 627, 123–129. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07080-1
  • Figueiredo, L. D., & Simão, S. M. (2014). Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) vocalizations from Southeast Brazil. Aquatic Mammals, 40, 225–231. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12917
  • Ford, J. K. B., Ellis, G. M., Matkin, D. R., Balcomb, K. C., Briggs, D., & Morton, A. B. (2006). Killer whale attacks on minke whales: Prey capture and antipredator tactics. Marine Mammal Science, 21, 603–618. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2005.tb01254.x
  • Fournet, M. E., Szabo, A., & Mellinger, D. K. (2015). Repertoire and classification of non-song calls in Southeast Alaskan humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 137, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4904504
  • Gedamke, J., Costa, D. P., & Dunstan, A. (2001). Localization and visual verification of a complex minke whale vocalization. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 109, 3038–3047. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1371763
  • Herman, L. M. (2016). The multiple functions of male song within the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) mating system: Review, evaluation, and synthesis. Biological Reviews, 92, 1795–1818. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12309
  • Jefferson, T. A., Stacey, P. J., & Baird, R. W. (1991). A review of killer whale interactions with other marine mammals: Predation to co-existence. Mammal Review, 21, 151–180. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2907.1991.tb00291.x
  • Malige, F., Patris, J., Hauray, M., Giraudet, P., Glotin, H., & Noûs, C. (2022). Mathematical models of long term evolution of blue whale song types’ frequencies. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 548, 111184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2022.111184
  • Matthews, L. P., & Parks, S. E. (2021). An overview of North Atlantic right whale acoustic behavior, hearing capabilities, and responses to sound. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 173, 113043. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113043
  • McDonald, M. A., Calambokidis, J., Teranishi, A. M., & Hildebrand, J. A. (2001). The acoustic calls of blue whales off California with gender data. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 109, 1728–1735. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1353593
  • McDonald, M. A., Hildebrand, J. A., & Mesnick, S. L. (2006). Biogeographic characterization of blue whale song worldwide: Using song to identify populations. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 8, 55–65. https://doi.org/10.47536/jcrm.v8i1.702
  • McDonald, M. A., Hildebrand, J. A., Wiggins, S. M., Thiele, D., Glasgow, D., & Moore, S. E. (2005). Sei whale sounds recorded in the Antarctic. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 118, 3941–3945. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.2130944
  • Mehta, A. V., Allen, J. M., Constantine, R., Garrigue, C., Jann, B., Jenner, C., Marx, M. K., Matkin, C. O., Mattila, D. K., Minton, G., Mizroch, S. A., Olavarria, C., Robbins, J., Russell, K. G., Seton, R. E., Steiger, G. H., Víkingsson, G. A., Wade, P. R., Witteveen, B. H., & Clapham, P. J. (2007). Baleen whales are not important as prey for killer whales Orcinus orca in high-latitude regions. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 348, 297–307. https://library.search.tulane.edu/permalink/01TUL_INST/165shvu/cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_20572246
  • Morisaka, T., & Connor, R. C. (2007). Predation by killer whales (Orcinus orca) and the evolution of whistle loss and narrow-band high frequency clicks in odontocetes. European Society for Evolutionary Biology, 20, 1439–1458. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01336.x
  • Newhall, A. E., Lin, Y.-T., Lynch, J. F., Baumgartner, M. F., & Gawarkiewicz, G. G. (2012). Long distance passive localization of vocalizing sei whales using an acoustic normal mode approach. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 131, 1814–1825. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3666015
  • Nielsen, M. L. K., Bejder, L., Videsen, S. K. A., Christiansen, F., & Madsen, P. T. (2019). Acoustic crypsis in southern right whale mother–calf pairs: Infrequent, low-output calls to avoid predation? Journal of Experimental Biology, 222, jeb190728. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.190728
  • Nikolich, K., & Towers, J. R. (2020). Vocalizations of common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in an eastern North Pacific feeding ground. Bioacoustics, 29, 97–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/09524622.2018.1555716
  • Oleson, E. M., Calambokidis, J., Burgess, W. C., McDonald, M. A., LeDuc, C. A., & Hildebrand, J. A. (2007). Behavioral context of call production by eastern North Pacific blue whales. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 330, 269–284. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps330269
  • Pitman, R. L., Ballance, L. T., Mesnick, S. L., & Chiversa, S. J. (2001). Killer whale predation on sperm whales: Observations and implications. Marine Mammal Science, 17, 494–507. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2001.tb01000.x
  • Pitman, R. L., Deecke, V. B., Gabriele, C. M., Srinivasan, M., Black, N., Denkinger, J., Durban, J. W., Mathews, A. E., Matkin, D. R., Neilson, J. L., Schulman-Janiger, A., Shearwater, D., Stap, P., & Ternullo, R. (2016). Humpback whales interfering when mammal-eating killer whales attack other species: Mobbing behavior and interspecific altruism? Marine Mammal Science, 33, 7–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12343
  • Pitman, R. L., Totterdell, J. A., Fearnbach, H., Ballance, L. T., Durban, J. W., & Kemps, H. (2014). Whale killers: Prevalence and ecological implications of killer whale predation on humpback whale calves off Western Australia. Marine Mammal Science, 31, 629–657. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12182
  • Rice, A. N., Palmer, K. J., Tielens, J. T., Muirhead, C. A., & Clark, C. W. (2014). Potential Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) calls recorded in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 135, 3066–3076. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4870057
  • Risch, D., Clark, C. W., Dugan, P. J., Popescu, M., Siebert, U., & Van Parijs, S. M. (2013). Minke whale acoustic behavior and multi-year seasonal and diel vocalization patterns in Massachusetts Bay, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 489, 279–295. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10426
  • Risch, D., Siebert, U., & Van Parijs, S. M. (2014). Individual calling behaviour and movements of North Atlantic minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata). Behaviour, 151, 1335–1360. https://doi.org/10.1163/1568539X-00003187
  • Romagosa, M., Boisseau, O., Cucknell, A.-C., Moscrop, A., & McLanaghan, R. (2015). Source level estimates for sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) vocalizations off the Azores. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138, 2367–2372. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4930900
  • Romagosa, M., Nieukirk, S., Cascão, I., Marques, T. A., Dziak, R., Royer, J.-Y., O’Brien, J., Mellinger, D. K., Pereira, A., Ugalde, A., Papale, E., Aniceto, S., Buscaino, G., Rasmussen, M., Matias, L., Prieto, R., & Silva, M. A. (2024). Fin whale song evolution in the North Atlantic. eLife, 13, e83750. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.83750
  • Širović, A., Bassett, H. R., Johnson, S. C., Wiggins, S. M., & Hildebrand, J. A. (2014). Bryde’s whale calls recorded in the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Mammal Science, 30, 399–409. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12036
  • Širović, A., & Oleson, E. M. (2022). The bioacoustics of blue whales—Global diversity and behavioral variability in a foraging specialist. In C. W. Clark & E. C. Garland (Eds.), Ethology and behavioral ecology of mysticetes (pp. 195–221). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98449-6_9
  • Springer, A. M., Estes, J. A., Van Vliet, G. B., Williams, T. M., Doak, D. F., Danner, E. M., & Pfister, B. (2008). Mammal-eating killer whales, industrial whaling, and the sequential megafaunal collapse in the North Pacific Ocean: A reply to critics of Springer et al. 2003. Marine Mammal Science, 24, 414–442. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2008.00185.x
  • Steiger, G. H., Calambokidis, J., Straley, J. M., Herman, L. M., Cerchio, S., Salden, D. R., Urban-R, J., Jacobsen, J. K., Von Ziegesar, O., Balcomb, K. C., Gabriele, C. M., Dahlheim, M. E., Uchida, S., Ford, J. K. B., Ladrón de Guevara, P., Yamaguchi, M., & Barlow, J. (2008). Geographic variation in killer whale attacks on humpback whales in the North Pacific: Implications for predation pressure. Endangered Species Research, 4, 247–256. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00078
  • Szymanski, M. D., Bain, D. E., Kiehl, K., Pennington, S., Wong, S., & Henry, K. R. (1999). Killer whale (Orcinus orca) hearing: Auditory brainstem response and behavioral audiograms. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 106, 1134–1141. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.427121
  • Tønnessen, J. N., & Johnsen, A. O. (1982). The history of modern whaling. C. Hurst & Co. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400019069
  • Totterdell, J. A., Wellard, R., Reeves, I. M., Elsdon, B., Markovic, P., Yoshida, M., Fairchild, A., Sharp, G., & Pitman, R. L. (2022). The first three records of killer whales (Orcinus orca) killing and eating blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus). Marine Mammal Science, 38, 1286–1301. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12906
  • Videsen, S. K. A., Bejder, L., Johnson, M., & Madsen, P. T. (2017). High suckling rates and acoustic crypsis of humpback whale neonates maximise potential for mother–calf energy transfer. Functional Ecology, 31, 1561–1573. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12871
  • Viloria-Gómora, L., Romero-Vivas, E., & Urbán, J. R. (2015). Calls of Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) recorded in the Gulf of California. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138, 2722–2725. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4932032
  • Webster, T. A., Dawson, S. M., Rayment, W. J., Parks, S. E., & Van Parijs, S. M. (2016). Quantitative analysis of the acoustic repertoire of southern right whales in New Zealand. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 140, 322–333. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4955066
  • Zeh, J. M., Dombroski, J. R. G., & Parks, S. E. (2022). Preferred shallow-water nursery sites provide acoustic crypsis to southern right whale mother–calf pairs. Royal Society Open Science, 9, 220241. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220241

Cited References