How does whale sonar work?
Sonar starts when the animal sends out bursts of sound waves. The sound waves bounce off objects in the water, including fishes, schools of krill, boats or other whales. The bouncing sound waves return to the whale as echoes. The whale listens for these echoes with a highly developed reception system, which goes beyond the ears to include special adaptations of the head and jawbone. A whale may be “feeling” the echoes as they bounce back, more than hearing them. However it feels to the whale, the echolocation sense is very accurate—whales and dolphins can navigate and find food in dark or murky water, or even if blindfolded.
