Whales are Capable of Complex Communication — Could Humans Ever Talk With Them?

Whales are among the most intelligent species on Earth. Each species of whale, from sperm whales to humpback whales to orcas (which are technically dolphins), has a distinct communication system that often varies within populations. Ever since humans have been studying and observing these forms of communication, a question has arisen: Could humans one day engage in acoustic interactions with whales? And what could these interactions reveal about non-human intelligence?

Researchers from the Whale-SETI team at the University of California, Davis and the Alaska Whale Foundation explored whale-human communication with humpback whales and came to some fascinating conclusions.

Learn more: Sperm whale clicks may be more complex than previously thought and similar to human language

How humans communicate with whales

When scientists recorded a contact call with a humpback whale, known as a whup, and broadcast it underwater around their research vessel, they were surprised when a whale named Twain became a more than willing participant in the call-and-response exchange. The scientists produced a single sound, or whup call, to which Twain then responded with his own whup call, a “conversation” described in their PeerJ paper.

“It can loosely translate to ‘hello’ or a sort of greeting call when animals gather together or simply to signal that individuals are in a certain location,” says Josephine Hubbard, study author and animal behaviorist at Whale SETI.

In this case, it was as if Twain was saying “hello” to the scientists or “I’m here.” But in both cases, it responded to and interacted with whale signals produced by humans. Additionally, it’s worth noting that calling it “conversation” is also interesting, because human linguists would have a specific definition of what a conversation actually is, says Hubbard.

Do whales want to communicate with humans?

Of course, whales’ willingness to communicate with humans varies depending on the whale’s temperament and the situation. Just as some humans are more extroverted than others, this could also be true for whales, although it would require more research to understand.

Twain was circling the scientists’ ship and was near its speakers. Permit limitations only allow researchers to produce the sound for 20 minutes, but once stopped, Twain continued to produce more signals before leaving.

“The cool thing about Twain is that she could have left at any time, because it wasn’t a captive environment where she couldn’t leave, so she chose to be close to us,” Hubbard says.

Famous and friendly humpback bubble rings and gray whales

Humpback whales also produce “bubble rings”, in many cases near boats, in a way that suggests they are playing and that the whales are doing so in a relaxed manner.

Another paper published last year by Hubbard and his team in the journal Marine Mammal Science analyzed 39 rings made by 11 individual whales that suggest a playful and communicative side of whales.

“These new observations show humpback whales producing rings of bubbles during friendly encounters with humans,” the study authors write.

Often the drive to communicate with humans came through food, but in this case, that wasn’t the case. There have been other examples as well. The gray whales of Mexico’s San Ignacio Lagoon, for example, are known for their kindness. In fact, certain gray whales regularly approach boats and allow visitors to have gentle contact with them.

According to the Oceanic Society, this behavior is not shared by all gray whales and, in fact, this species of whale was hunted to extinction just a generation ago. But this behavior may have been passed down from generation to generation, and some gray whales in this population voluntarily approach humans.

Ultimately, these and other encounters show that, in some cases, whales appear willing to interact with humans. And the more we learn about how they communicate and what they tell us, the more we can learn about them.

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