In an expedition to look for a legend, The Loneliest Whale: The Search For 52, researchers today see if they can find the single whale who sang its own distinct song with no response three decades ago.
Whales are amazing creatures, but when I think about marine life in general, I’m incredibly grateful for the knowledge we have. In this documentary, one of the historical facts that they discuss is how 1800s sailors laying in their cots in the belly of a ship likely heard whales singing, but had no idea what the sound was. No one knew that whales were intelligent beings. No one knew anything about them.
The Loneliest Whale: The Search For 52 is a documentary about looking for the sounds of a single whale in the entire ocean. In 1992, a top secret program was formed through the US Navy to try to get ahead of the Russians as far as intelligence. As part of this goal, underwater microphones were placed to try to collect all of the sounds of the ocean. What they got was a collection of sounds, including those of whales singing. And upon further inspection, one single whale made a sound that no other whale made, and no other whale responded. This solitary whale was ultimately named 52.
Over the years, 52 has become a whale of myth and legend. Message boards and articles abound at this point, but the biggest questions were – What kind of whale was this? Was he all alone? Did he ever find another being who understood what he was singing?
This is an incredibly enjoyable documentary about a handful of researchers and enthusiasts who get just enough funding to go looking for 52. Using all kinds of sonar, tagging, drones, and other excellent gadgets, you get to see what they went through during their search as well as beautiful underwater and above water views of the whales they find.
The other thing that is great about this film is that they discuss the history of man’s interactions with whales. There is a long history of whales being hunted for oil to use in lamps and for other lubrication. Even after petroleum was discovered, the hunting continued. It was only in 1970, when a record of whale sounds was released, that the general public began to understand what they were destroying. Save The Whales was founded shortly after that, and a love of whales began to become a popular position.
This doc also explores a very specific question that I am still pondering. Can whales even feel loneliness or is that a human emotion that we have placed upon them? There is a very satisfying answer to that as well as the entire expedition here, although maybe not in the way you are hoping. Either way, this is a really entertaining and informative watch.
Runtime: 96 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Available: Free on Tubi and Netflix, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
Whales are amazing creatures, but when I think about marine life in general, I’m incredibly grateful for the knowledge we have. In this documentary, one of the historical facts that they discuss is how 1800s sailors laying in their cots in the belly of a ship likely heard whales singing, but had no idea what the sound was. No one knew that whales were intelligent beings. No one knew anything about them.
