So I’m not sure that an adequate introduction is even possible here. I found this, and I think it’s important for everybody to know it exists.
I don’t feel that this needs justification, but it does occur to me that an enterprising congressperson could enter this into the congressional record as part of a discussion on climate change. I’m almost tempted to make a transcript for a senator to use as a filibuster on the issue.
Partial description below for the hearing-impaired, or those who want to see my attempt at describing the sounds I’m hearing.
The “video” is a few words about what the video is, and then a single picture of a walrus for the entire 10 hours.
The first sounds are a sort of deep, resonant bellow, repeated a few times like the laughter of a giant who has been smoking giant cigarettes many times per giant day.
This is followed by what could be described as a sort of nasal snoring or sputtering noise, again – think giant here. These are all really BIG noises being made by a really big creature.
The sputtering concludes with what sounds like a high-pressure fart – almost like a trumpet tone. Then a few more bellows, followed by a sort of yell, like a person who was asked to smell something horrible, and accidently sniffed some of it into their nose and down their throat. And then they said, “Waaa. Wawaawaaawa!Wawa!” – but the sound is far back in the throat, as if whatever horrible thing was sniffed managed to get halfway down the walrus’s throat, and it was trying to get it back up before the swallow reflex kicked in.
There is another version of this noise that sounds like the walrus decided that while the initial experience was bad, it enjoyed making the noise, so started playing around with it.
Some of it also has the quiet sloshing of a massive creature moving in water.
The other primary noise is a fairly pleasant whistle. For those who don’t know, this is an actual whistle – pursed lips and everything. Several notes are whistled at different points in the video.
All of these noises continue, in various permutations and keys, for ten hours.
I have no idea why, but I love this video. I was using it as a background while I was doing a drawing, and somehow it was perfect. I think because it is a natural sound, with natural variations so it doesn’t wear on the ears or nerves as a man-made sound would. I am weird I know, but in my defense, I am married to a marine biologist who works in the north West Coast of Canada. Traveling with him, I have not heard walruses, (alas) but have heard plenty of seals, sea lions, and killer whales. On the ocean, or in a bay with evergreen tree-covered mountains all around, the calls seem perfectly right.
My supervisor also decided to use it as a soundtrack for her work for a while. Things like this are part of why I’m glad the internet exists.
This video also made me aware of 10 hours of chicken sounds, and of whale song. Somehow I prefer these sounds to 10 hours of Wagner, though I am there’s folks who would think me a goob for saying so — but de gustibus non est disputandum…
I’m pretty sure not all of those sounds are coming from the same end of the animal! 😉
Also Walruses whistle? That I didn’t know or expect till now.
Neat, cheers.