World’s First ‘Conversation’ Between Humans and Humpback Whales Could Help Us Talk to Aliens in the Future

The language of humpback whales may be as foreign to us humans as an alien race from another world. Because of this, experts believe that learning to communicate with whales may help us interact with intelligent extraterrestrial beings.

(Photo : Wikimedia Commons/ Sylke Rohrlach)

Whale Language

Humans have been enchanted with whales for centuries. As a matter of fact, these marine mammals exhibit a long list of behaviors which are similar to humans. They are known for being social animals, cooperating with one another and other species. They teach each other useful skills and look after each other's young.

Unlike humans, however, the dominant sense in whales is hearing, not sight. This is because light cannot reach the surface of the ocean below 660 feet (200 meters). Meanwhile, sound can move faster and farther in water than it does in the air.

Baleen whales, which include blue whales, right whales, and humpbacks have evolved a unique larynx which allows them to create super low-frequency sounds that can travel large distances. As cetaceans, they have evolved over 50 million years to produce and hear various complex sounds.

Whales rely on noise to communicate with each other, to navigate the ocean, find mates and food, protect their territories and resources, and avoid predators. Their young also babble much like human infants, which are even believed to have names. Groups of whales from various parts of the ocean also have regional dialects. Aside from these, whales have also been heard mimicking the dialect of foreign groups, with some even thought to have given human language a shot.

The songs produced by the humpback whale are thought to be one of the most complex in the animal kingdom. In 1952, US Navy engineer Frank Watlinton made the first recording of the humpback whale song. After 20 years, marine biologist Roger Payne noticed that these calls were recognized in repeating patterns. These discoveries have transformed humans' understanding of whale vocalizations and sparked an interest that would lead to decades of study.

First Human-Whale Conversation

In a recent study, scientists from the SETI Institute, University of California Davis and the Alaska Whale Foundation had a "conversation" with a humpback whale named Twain. They used an underwater speaker and recorded a humpback whale "contact" call. The marine mammal responded to the researchers' call by matching the interval variations between signals of each playback call over a 20-minute period.

Twain's response to each playback call shows a sophisticated level of understanding and interaction. Upon hearing the contact call played using an underwater speaker, the animal approached and circled the team's boat. Matching the interval variations between each call mirrors a human-like conversation style.

According to a statement from the SETI Institute, this demonstration of interspecies communications has implications for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The experts believe that studying humpback whale communication systems can help them detect and interpret signals from outer space. Their findings can also be used in developing filters which can be applied to any extraterrestrial signals received from the distant regions of space.