Whales that speak human language - by @bigbear

in #nature7 years ago

It is incredible to think that a killer whale like an orca can speak our language.

Image Credit

They find it very easy to say word said to them, something like a parrot only much faster.

The Orca killer whale is just one of the animals that learn how to say words.

They have some beluga that was put in with bottlenose dolphins, and after a time he sounded just like them. This just happened and it was not done under scientific testing, but they have now done tests with two Orca’s.

They have recently taught a whale called Wikie and Maona, the researchers taught them some commands in Orca and that was no problem. The researchers started teaching them words in English like hello and bye- bye; they even have different accents.

They have no problem learning certain words yet it seems as though they have a problem with counting. Three seem to be a difficult word for them.

The new results show that orcas not only have different dialects between pods, but they have the incredible ability to learn to imitate sounds wherever they hear them.

So, it’s OK if you don’t speak whale. Whales can speak human well enough.

They reckon that Orcas are exceptional at learning anything they hear and vocalise any sound.

Courtesy of youtube

Wikie and Maona was fed when they did the word the way they should, Maona is the calf of Wikie, who both now know the command “copy” and when a word is said they say the word. That is when they are given extra food for doing something the way they should.

Courtesy of youtube

The funny thing about some whales is that when they come from different parts of the ocean, they have different accents; you can hear it in the video.

What I personally liked the most was that they said they are bilingual. It is so funny to think that an animal can speak human.

Apparently there are many more animals that have this ability but this was just very smart to me.

Wikie and Maona are the first that were really researched all the others happened by accident and people just noticed that they said and made different sounds.

They even found a whale who barked like a seal but this was not done under controlled environment. This was written in the journal

Biology Letters.

Who would think that a killer whale has this ability.

My source: https://www.livescience.com/61583-orca-says-hello.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42877067

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There is nothing beautiful than nature

Such big and beautiful animals! The pictures are just super!

Whales are incredibly intelligent, I feel like a lot of us underestimate their intelligence.

They are such cute and smart animals. I didn’t know they can make these noises!
Amazing post!!

This makes complete and total sense. Whales are so incredibly smart, it doesn't take much stretch of the imagination to believe this. So many researchers have shown them communicating and cooperating during huntz, and even showing that humpback whales will sometimes step in and protect other animals from Orcas.

Humans are silly to think we're the only minds out there.

Wow
Amazing your posts

So impressive pics and text. It reminds me of my whale watching tour that I did in Sydney. Unfortunately, I could not make comparably beautiful photos there ;) These are such fascinating animals...

Wow it actually did sort of sound like it was talking,thanks for sharing.

Thank you for this post! Interesting informations about whales ✌️

Maybe somebody is interesting in this project about saving the whales:
https://www.walfluesterer.de (in German)

excelente publicacion, que animalito tan maravilloso

Greetings from Poland !!

They are one of the great mammals of the sea, and one of the world's most powerful predators. They have the ability to work as a team, pass knowledge to each other, communicate, feast on the white shark to mention a few items. But let us not forget that they are called killer whales for a reason. A name that is well deserved.

very interesting post.good video, informative

I was swimming of the coast of California years ago when all of a sudden a POD of Orcas appeared. I was frozen. as they came closer all I could do was slowly utter in complete fear " hello there big ffffellerrr " That big orca pop his head above the water line and said "no hablo ingles" then swam away. I don't think they speak English
Disclaimer: thats not true just a little humor to keep conversation going

They are incredibly intelligent creature, so my surprise was little. Still, isn't this fact amazing?

learn a new thing everyday! i had no idea about this! and my kid has a book on whales and we sometimes read it, but they say nothing about this!
bilingual :) nice one. i will continue to read the articles u recommended.

thanks for writing!

all knows sometimes animal have a way to interact with human. you got my upvote :)

man thats mind blowing, we definitely underestimate their intelligence.
this animals shouldn't live in captivity -.-