Scientists recently had a groundbreaking chat with a whale. Now, they’re working hard to understand what the whale was really saying.
In a feat that sounds straight out of a Pixar movie, scientists recently engaged in a riveting tête-à-tête with a whale. Now, they’re on a mission to decode what these oceanic behemoths are chattering about. Imagine this: a low, rumbling “throp” emanates from an underwater speaker on a research vessel, prompting a humpback whale to break from its squad and swim over. The whale then proceeds to circle the boat, perhaps contemplating whether to ask for a seaweed latte.
This extraordinary encounter took place in 2021 off the coast of south-east Alaska, when a squad of six intrepid scientists decided to press play on a recording of a humpback greeting call using an underwater speaker. Lo and behold, one whale, affectionately dubbed Twain, decided to respond in a manner that could only be described as chit-chat. Josie Hubbard, an animal behaviorist with a penchant for marine gossip, described the experience as akin to “stepping into a marine-themed coffee shop.”
As the research vessel bobbed gently in the waves of Frederick Sound, Alaska, Hubbard and her crewmates found themselves at the forefront of a historic moment. Brenda McCowan, the designated DJ below deck, played a recorded humpback contact call – think of it as the whale equivalent of sliding into someone’s DMs. And what followed was a riveting back-and-forth, or as the researchers like to call it, a “conversation,” that lasted a whale-sized 20 minutes.
But before you start imagining Twain discussing Moby Dick over a cup of krill with the scientists, let’s reel it back in. While it’s tempting to envision whales plotting their next deep-sea adventure with humans, the reality is a tad less whimsical. These majestic creatures communicate through a symphony of whistles, pulses, and echolocation clicks, with as much subtlety as a Shakespearean drama – if Shakespeare was into underwater acoustics, that is.
Fast forward to today, and the Seti research team – yes, the same folks on the hunt for extraterrestrial intelligence – are now putting their ears to the ocean floor, hoping to unravel the mysteries of whale-speak. Because who needs aliens when you’ve got whales, right? As for whether this newfound ability to chat with whales will lead to underwater tea parties or clandestine espionage missions, only time will tell. But one thing’s for sure: the ocean just got a whole lot chattier.
