Have you ever wondered what the loneliest animals in the world are?
Well it’s probably humans. No animal is as talented at loneliness as the human. They are able to be lonely in cities of million people, which is really very impressive if you think about it.
But some other animals have good reasons to feel alone too.
Here are 4 animals with very good reasons to feel lonely:
1) The 52-Hertz Whale
This whale has fascinated scientists for years. From its migration patterns we know it’s either a blue whale or a fin whale, but it sings at a far higher pitch than either. We don’t know why, but this whale has a totally unique song. This leads to it being ignored my all the other whales of its species, and so sings its lonely song into the uncaring abyss. It was first detected in 1989, and has been heard every year since. One theory is that this whale is deaf.
2) Albert the Albatross
There are over a million black-browed albatrosses nesting in islands in the Southern Ocean. Albert, however, was first spotted in Scotland in 1967, having been blown thousands of miles off course. He has since been spotted hundreds of times. He is not totally alone, as he likes to hang out with other seabirds, but he hasn’t seen any other members of his species for over 50 years. He is probably very confused at this point.
3) The Hanoi Giant Turtle
A giant, magical turtle is central in one of Vietnam’s most important legends, where it lived in Hoan Kiem lake in Hanoi, and offered a magical sword to Lê Lợi, who then lead a rebellion against the Chinese and liberated Vietnam, becoming emperor. The giant turtle was once thought to be no more than a myth, until a dead turtle, 2 metres long, was discovered in the same lake. Other turtles were seen many times over the years, until the last one died in 2015. However, an individual was recently discovered in another lake, Xuan Khanh on the outskirts of Hanoi, which means this species is still alive in the city. There are only 4 of these incredible turtles left in the world, all in different lakes in Vietnam and China.
4) The Last Wild Spix’s Macaw
This parrot was once native to the forests of Brazil. Having been assumed to be extinct in the wild for more than a decade, a single Spix’s Macaw was caught on camera in 2016. If it is still alive, it is possibly the last of it’s kind left in the wild. The Spix’s macaw is thought to engage in elaborate courtship rituals that take several months, including feeding each other and flying together. It is likely that it mates for life. But this one will probably never met another member of its species.
So, if ever you feel alone, remind yourself that it could be worse. You could be the only one of your species in a whole hemisphere, or even the last of your species in the wild. You could singing a song so strange it repels every member of your species, or you could be the end of a legendary bloodline of magical turtles.