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The Hidden Voices of Monk Seals

The Hidden Voices of Monk Seals

60-Second Science vor 9 Monaten

Researchers uncover 20 new underwater calls from Hawaii’s endangered monk seals.

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In this episode, take a dive into the underwater vocalizations of
the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. Scientists analyzing thousands
of hours of underwater recordings have uncovered a surprising array
of previously unknown calls. Ocean writer Melissa Hobson explores
how researchers captured the sounds of the species, why they matter
for conservation and what they tell us about the social lives of
one of the world’s rarest seals. Recommended Reading: “Underwater
Sound Production of Free-Ranging Hawaiian Monk Seals,” by Kirby
Parnell et al., in Royal Society Open Science, Vol. 12, No. 11;
November 1, 2025 Melissa Hobson’s website Wiggling Whiskers Help
Hungry Seals Hunt in the Dark E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com
if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should
cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific
American and sign up for our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is
produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio.
This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by
Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by
Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
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