(Description and calf image by player Rebecca Engelmann)
 

Song Whales

So named for their haunting 'singing', these whales inhabit all of Uen's oceans but are found most abundantly in colder regions. They are identified by their sleek, sky blue and pale green mottled pigmentation with a luminescent underbelly. This white region typically extends from the entire lower jaw to the underside of the flukes, or tail. The distinct coloration of green and blue enables them to blend in with the swirling and changing colors of their environment and the white of their undersides glows faintly, attracting their usual prey of fish. Calves have a ring of darker coloring around the eyes and blowhole that generally fades at about two years of age. A blunt head, these whales have virtually no distinguishable beak and sport large ovate flippers. A male's flippers can measure as long as 20% of their body length whereas a female's is relatively shorter at about 12%. Another distinction between the male and female of the species is the dorsal fin. An adult male has a triangular fin that can reach a height of over 6 feet tall, the female's being significantly shorter at about only 3 feet tall. Female song whales generally attain a body length of 20-22 feet, males growing to over 30 feet and weighing as much as 18,000 pounds.

These mammals are air-breathing and must surface to take in air through a blowhole located at the top of the 'melon' or head. They are highly intelligent and are known for making up elaborate games, intricate songs and are also very agile for their enormous size. Family groups, or pods, are made up of anywhere between seven to upwards of seventy individuals. Complex social patterns have been observed and older females have been reported to accompany mothers and calves, flanking them in protective circles.

Hunting tactics have also been observed. 'Transients' or 'rogues' are made up of small pods that have no specific territories and hunt not only fish but also other mammals. Pack hunters, they have been rumored to hunt down and overwhelm far larger prey. The teeth are relatively large, up to 13 cm in length and curve inwards. Upper and lower teeth interlock as the jaw is closed. Song whales use sonar, or echolocation, to produce sound in the form of short, broad spectrum burst pulses, or clicks, that then reflects off of surrounding objects.

Every spring finds these whales in the Bay of Tramandy, a favored spot along their yearly migrational route. It is here where they come to breed and birth their young, often staying as long as three months, but sometimes no longer than one.

Breeding cycles seem to often span several months, the males rarely competing as they have their own small groups of mature females. Much attention is paid to the partner as the male 'woos' the female with rubbing, nudging and aerial displays. Gestation is thought to be around 13 months long and the calves can be born either tail first or head first. The umbilical cord snaps during or soon after delivery. The calf is about 8 feet long and weighs about 300 to 400 pounds, beginning to nurse several hours after birth, close to the surface of the water for up to about 12 months. A mother song whale stays close to her calf and attentively directs its movements, the baby swimming close to its mother so that it can be carried in it's mother's "slip stream,"-a type of water that comes as the mother glides so that the baby doesn't have to exert much effort in swimming, thus insuring that baby can keep up with the pod. It is assumed that a female may bear a calf every five years. A song whale's upper teeth come in at about two to four months.

It is believed that song whales can live anywhere between the ages of 40 to 70 years.