'Talking Whale' stuns scientists
By Deborah Brennan
October 25, 2012
San Diego scientists this week reported this week what sounded like a talking whale, a young Beluga that spontaneously mimicked human voices.
Researchers with the San Diego-based National Marine Mammal Foundation reported the findings in the journal Current Biology Monday, highlighting a case study they say is the first documentation of marine mammal mimicry of human speech.
“It’s very unusual,” said study author Sam Ridgway, president of the foundation, and a veteran marine mammal researcher. “This is the first time a whale, or any cetacean, has been demonstrated to imitate human speech and make speech-like sounds.”
The study began with a serendipitous discovery of the whale’s vocal abilities in 1984.
“After seven years in our care ... a white whale called NOC began, spontaneously, to make unusual sounds,” the paper stated. “We interpreted the whale’s vocalizations as an attempt to mimic humans.”
In fact, the study stated, NOC had imitated human sounds so convincingly that a diver once surfaced outside the enclosure asking “Who told me to get out?” When no one admitted to issuing the command, puzzled staff members eventually concluded that the word “out” came from the whale.
“As soon as we confirmed that it was the whale making these speech-like sounds, we went down with acoustic equipment and placed two hydrophones in the water, and we recorded it and then we used state-of-the-art equipment for analysis of the sounds we recorded,” Ridgway said. “We discovered that the sounds had the same rhythm and spectrum and frequency as human voice.”
People have reported hearing marine mammals produce sounds like human speech, and researchers say it’s common to hear mimicry among animals in the wild.
“When we’ve been at sea, sometimes we’ll be sending signals down to our instruments, and the dolphins will mimic the sounds that we’re making,” said John Hildebrand, a professor of oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Dolphins have been trained to produce sounds similar to human voices, most famously by 1960s researcher John Lilly, who tried to teach dolphins to speak. But the recent study is the first record of a marine mammal spontaneously imitating voices on its own, Ridgway said.
On a recording, the whale can be heard babbling happily in what amounts to an acoustic Rorschach test, open to interpretation by listeners, who hear everything from patriotic anthems to their favorite movies.
“It sounds like different things for different people,” Ridgway said. “Some said ‘Stars and Stripes Forever,’ one said the ‘Star-Spangled Banner.’ One said it sounded like Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau arguing.”
Scientists think the whale’s close proximity to people allowed it to listen to and mimic human conversation. It did so by changing the pressure in its nasal cavities. After four years of copying people, it went back to sounding like a whale, emitting high-pitched noises. It died five years ago.
While the whale wasn’t truly speaking, and was admittedly not as skilled a mimic as a parrot or mynah bird, he seemed to enjoy the vocal interaction with his handlers, Ridgway said.
“They’re highly vocal animals, and they are playful animals,” he said. “I just think he got a lot of feedback, and a lot of attention from doing this.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
October 25, 2012
San Diego scientists this week reported this week what sounded like a talking whale, a young Beluga that spontaneously mimicked human voices.
Researchers with the San Diego-based National Marine Mammal Foundation reported the findings in the journal Current Biology Monday, highlighting a case study they say is the first documentation of marine mammal mimicry of human speech.
“It’s very unusual,” said study author Sam Ridgway, president of the foundation, and a veteran marine mammal researcher. “This is the first time a whale, or any cetacean, has been demonstrated to imitate human speech and make speech-like sounds.”
The study began with a serendipitous discovery of the whale’s vocal abilities in 1984.
“After seven years in our care ... a white whale called NOC began, spontaneously, to make unusual sounds,” the paper stated. “We interpreted the whale’s vocalizations as an attempt to mimic humans.”
In fact, the study stated, NOC had imitated human sounds so convincingly that a diver once surfaced outside the enclosure asking “Who told me to get out?” When no one admitted to issuing the command, puzzled staff members eventually concluded that the word “out” came from the whale.
“As soon as we confirmed that it was the whale making these speech-like sounds, we went down with acoustic equipment and placed two hydrophones in the water, and we recorded it and then we used state-of-the-art equipment for analysis of the sounds we recorded,” Ridgway said. “We discovered that the sounds had the same rhythm and spectrum and frequency as human voice.”
People have reported hearing marine mammals produce sounds like human speech, and researchers say it’s common to hear mimicry among animals in the wild.
“When we’ve been at sea, sometimes we’ll be sending signals down to our instruments, and the dolphins will mimic the sounds that we’re making,” said John Hildebrand, a professor of oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Dolphins have been trained to produce sounds similar to human voices, most famously by 1960s researcher John Lilly, who tried to teach dolphins to speak. But the recent study is the first record of a marine mammal spontaneously imitating voices on its own, Ridgway said.
On a recording, the whale can be heard babbling happily in what amounts to an acoustic Rorschach test, open to interpretation by listeners, who hear everything from patriotic anthems to their favorite movies.
“It sounds like different things for different people,” Ridgway said. “Some said ‘Stars and Stripes Forever,’ one said the ‘Star-Spangled Banner.’ One said it sounded like Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau arguing.”
Scientists think the whale’s close proximity to people allowed it to listen to and mimic human conversation. It did so by changing the pressure in its nasal cavities. After four years of copying people, it went back to sounding like a whale, emitting high-pitched noises. It died five years ago.
While the whale wasn’t truly speaking, and was admittedly not as skilled a mimic as a parrot or mynah bird, he seemed to enjoy the vocal interaction with his handlers, Ridgway said.
“They’re highly vocal animals, and they are playful animals,” he said. “I just think he got a lot of feedback, and a lot of attention from doing this.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Summary:
Scientists found a whale that had the ability to repeat after what a human said. A young beluga was found making human like voices. Though the whale was not literally speaking but just simply enjoying being able to do so. Whales talking began when the whales began to talk in 1984. They were described as "intelligent" even though the voices recorded sounded more like it was mimicking a baby.
I chose this article because it stunned me that the whale can do that. We take for granted the talents some animals have and its really interesting that the animals seems more intelligent than the human race. Taking the time to evaluate the creatures that have special talents can maybe stun others and they can be recognized more.
I chose this article because it stunned me that the whale can do that. We take for granted the talents some animals have and its really interesting that the animals seems more intelligent than the human race. Taking the time to evaluate the creatures that have special talents can maybe stun others and they can be recognized more.