Male humpback whales undergo a ‘cultural revolution’ every few years, change song

According to new research populations of male humpback whales undergo a ‘cultural revolution’ every few years when they change their song anthem.

A 13-year study done by experts from the University of St Andrews and the University of Queensland in Australia focused on 95 humpback whales from east Australia, the BBC reports. 

They discovered when the revolutions occur the new song is always simpler than the one before.  They also found evidence that the gradual song changes were due to new sounds introduced by other whales that were then learned by the rest of the group.

Humpback whales are famed for having ‘dialects’ unique to different populations.

Groups of male whales have their own ‘anthems’ with each member of the population singing the same sequence of the same sounds.