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Captive Beluga Was Able To Mimic Speech
ananyo writes "'Who told me to get out?' asked a diver, surfacing from a tank in which a whale named NOC lived. The beluga's caretakers had heard what sounded like garbled phrases emanating from the enclosure before, and it suddenly dawned on them that the whale might be imitating the voices of his human handlers. The outbursts began in 1984 and lasted for about four years, until NOC hit sexual maturity. NOC likely learned to imitate humans by listening to them speak underwater and on the surface. The whale's human-like calls are several octaves lower than normal whale calls, a similar pitch to human speech. Researchers trained NOC to 'speak' on command, and determined that he makes the sounds by increasing the pressure of the air that courses through his nasal cavities. They think that he then modified the sounds by manipulating the shape of his phonic lips, small vibrating structures that sit above each nasal cavity. A recording of NOC's speech is embedded in the story. He sounds remarkably like a kazoo."
"So long, and thanks for all the fish."
Whoever taught you Eskimo kisses played a mean joke.
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It's a swedish fish!
If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
... anyone remember SeaQuest DSV? ;)
Yes, I do now.
Thanks~
If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
Across many species the ability to mimic other creatures is commonplace. In this case, the notion that the beluga was "trained" makes it difficult to assess whether there was actual comprehension of the meaning and/or purpose of the mimicked sound(s). This makes the story nothing more than a parallel to circus-trained animal stories.
Considering NOC (the beluga) provided the stimulus and the human diver got out of the tank, I agree with you.
NOC has those divers trained like circus animals. I doubt they comprehend the beluga's pleasure at seeing them perform.
Beluga whales, like all marine mammals, breathe air.
The outbursts began in 1984 and lasted about four years, until NOC hit sexual maturity.
If only people were like that: all talk until they hit sexual maturity and suddenly realize they don't know anything. People just keep on talking, as evidenced by the slashdot crowd, who... Oh... wait. This explains so much...
We have a whale, another species on this planet, use human speech and the first thing he says is, essentially, "Get off my damn lawn, kid."
How come Slashdot never gets Slashdotted?
I think we've discovered the Alexandra Wallace of the whale world.
While I've spoken with many Narwhals Orating Cryptically, this is one Narratively Ostentatious Cetacean I'd really like to have a word with.
Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012
I see no reason to think from this that the beluga had any comprehension of human speech; the sounds he produced don't seem to have any real meaning, and I'm skeptical that he could have discerned any meaning in the sounds of humans talking to each other from the limited context of them.
However... given the brain capacity of the animal (greater than a simple mimic like a parrot), I do wonder whether he was actually making a crude, conscious attempt to communicate. He may have been adjusting his pitch and sounds to match what he was hearing, in much the same way that stupid humans will speak their own language with a foreign accent when trying to communicate with someone who speaks another language, or in the same way that humans will bark or meow at pets, in a playful attempt at communicating with them in their own language. That is, he may have figured out that these sounds humans make are a form of (possibly intelligent) communication – much like we figured out the same regarding whale songs – and he was trying to show that he understood that fact by making similar sounds.
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While the Beluga are aquatic, probably smarter, and definitely cuter than you, they are unlikely to replace you in the hearts of you pirate brethren.
Mainly because at 5.5 meters (18 feet) long and at 1,600 kg (3,500 pounds), they do not fit on the shoulder of your average pirate.
However, it is likely that the elder pirate gods, in their watery realm, prefer Beluga companions over parrots
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Who are you calling a simple mimic? Parrots have been shown to understand concepts. To have the ability to generalize from concrete instances. To create abstractions. Categories. And possibly to plan for the future as well.
Citation needed.
In 'Broca's Brain', Carl Sagan mentioned that the great apes (uh . not us) can learn sign language and communicate with us in that shared language - even to the extent of creating phrases for 'duck' (Water-bird). Now that is understanding concepts, etc.
Parrots? I don't buy it. Yet.
"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes" - Winston Churchill
Google Irene Pepperberg and Alex the African Grey. IIRC, Alex tested at about the same level as a 2 year old human.
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
anyone remember SeaQuest DSV? ;)
Thanks, I was in the process of repurposing those neurons, now I have to start all over again.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
You were trained to speak english by your parents, does that make you a circus animal? Do you comprehend the noises you make? Actually don't answer that, I have no way of knowing if your answer is just another trained response.that comkes from being taught that humans have "special" abilities that are not found elsewhere in the natural world.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.