Humpback whales heard singing off New York coast

Scientists have been able to hear humpback whales singing off the coast of New York, using underwater sound recording equipment.

They are usually found in the Caribbean so this is a long way from home.

According to the scientists, it was unusual to hear them singing so far north and outside their usual mating season.

Although the whales have been seen more frequently in the New York Bight in recent years, this is one of the first time whales have been heard in the area.

While the sounds were first recorded during a 2008-2009 study, the scientists only went back to it to look out for humpback whale singing "only recently".

The findings have been published in the journal Marine Mammal Science,

In the research, the scientists analysed analysed 6,305 hours of humpback whale sounds captured by acoustic recorders placed on the seafloor 113 km (70 miles) south of Long Island in the New York Bight.

These help to detect whales sounds all year-round, and work alongside visual sightings of the whales.

Scientists are hoping this can help with future conservation efforts to protect the marine mammals in the area, which is one of the world's busiest waterways.

Julia Zeh, from Syracuse University, who was part of the study said: "By listening for humpback whales in waters off New York, we found exciting evidence of humpback whale presence in winter and spring, which emphasises both the conservation needs for this area and the many questions we still have about humpback whale occurrence in this habitat."

Imagine seeing a whale in these waters!

They believe the method can also provide a more complete picture of when the whales are present in the New York Bight.

Earlier studies had shown that male humpback whales produce songs as a seasonal breeding display, while some calls produced under different social contexts by males, females, sub-adults and calves are typically when the animals are close together.

"The more we know about how and when whales use these areas, the more we can make informed decisions on how to better protect them in some of the busiest commercial waters on the planet." Howard Rosenbaum from the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York said in a statement.