Vol. 11 (2): November 2008

The Song of the Sirens

Panagiotis Dendrinos and Alexandros A. Karamanlidis

MOm/Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal

Mother-pup calls in Pinnipeds seem to play an important role during the lactation period. It has been suggested that the identification of pups by their mothers is achieved by a combination of their vocalizations as well as olfactory and visual cues. Mediterranean monk seals seem not to be an exception to this rule. Field observations from different areas in Greece, made by MOm’s research team over the past twenty years, show clearly that newborn pups and female Mediterranean monk seals frequently produce audible, air-borne sounds while communicating; these vocalizations are most frequent during the first two – three weeks after birth. During the last few years we have been lucky enough to record several different types of these vocalizations. Considering the fact that practically nothing is known regarding this aspect of the species’ biology and behaviour and the fact that most probably very few people have ever heard these sounds, we thought it would be interesting, both for the scientific community and the general public, to present for the first time some of the characteristic sounds of this rare marine mammal.

After all, monk seal vocalizations, apart from their rarity and their scientific importance, are intriguing for another, less profound reason; they have been linked to the Homeric legend of the Sirens!

According to the ancient Greek poet, the Sirens were the wicked women who lured sailors to their death with their beautiful song. Some years ago Dr. Karl-Heinz Frommolt, head of the Archive of Animal Sounds at the Humboldt Museum in Germany, claimed [Odyssey Sirens ‘were monk seals’, BBC News 19/05/2005] that the song of the Sirens could be the ‘moaning’ of Mediterranean monk seals. Dr Frommolt placed the Sirens’ lair on the Li Galli islands, off Sorrento on Italy’s Amalfi coast. This island is known as Le Sirenuse, the Island of the Sirens. Dr. Frommolt found there a configuration of rocks which amplifies sounds coming from the island.

We do not know if Dr. Frommolt has actually ever heard monk seal vocalizations or whether Homer, when immortalizing the songs of the Sirens, had in mind the callings of Mediterranean monk seals. Listening however to the distinctive and rather peculiar sounds made by females when calling their pups (file 2) we believe that all this might not be as irrational and unfounded as might seem to be the case at first sight. From a biological perspective, MOm is seeking to ‘solve the mystery of the song of the Sirens’ by collecting additional information and by analyzing the already existing dataset. For the latter, we are in the process of establishing a collaboration with bioacoustics experts.

The sounds presented here are the vocalizations of:

1) A newborn pup, approximately ten days of age.

2) An adult female Mediterranean monk seal.

3) An adult female (different vocalization).

Image of a female Mediterranean monk seal vocalizing, captured
by an automatic infrared camera, installed in a breeding cave.

Copyright © 2008 Panagiotis Dendrinos, Alexandros A. Karamanlidis, The Monachus Guardian. All Rights Reserved