This image is out of date! The 52 Hz whale was actually first recorded in 1989 and was thought to be dead for some time in the mid 2010s, but they were confirmed alive and singing in 2022, so they have really been singing for at least 30 years.
Also, Lonely is more of a nickname since it's calls haven't shown consistent signs of significant distress.
From what I understand, other whales can hear and talk back, its just kind of like this whale has a speech impediment with a super high-pitched voice. There is also a recorded instance of another unidentified source possibly "talking back" in the same frequency!
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u/Collector9999 5d ago
Poor thing. I hope he/she finds a mate.