I’m not sure if I’ll ever look at dolphins the same way again… Animals can do incredible things, but this discovery may be one of the creepiest so far – people are confused after hearing a white dolphin imitate human speech.
Human Speech
We often think we can’t communicate with animals like we do with humans, but some species can mimic human sounds in a way that leaves you speechless. Parrots are a perfect example, often picking up sentences and even whole phrases with surprising clarity.
But imagine the shock when you hear an underwater white dolphin making sounds that eerily resemble human speech. While dolphins have been trained to mimic human-like sounds, no animal had ever done so spontaneously – until NOC, a nine-year-old dolphin, came along. He produced strange sounds in unusually low octaves, in rapid bursts.
It all began when a diver from the National Marine Mammal Foundation in California surfaced and asked incredulously, “Who told me to get out?”
The researchers looked at each other in disbelief – something extraordinary had just happened.
White dolphins (also known as white whales or belugas), referred to as the “canaries of the sea” because of their high-pitched chirps, have long been the subject of rumors about mimicking human speech. But until now, no one had captured this on tape.
Once NOC was identified as the source of the eerie sounds, the researchers immediately recorded the moment, confirming the incredible discovery.
We now move forward and a video from 2012 of NOC has surfaced online. Instead of laughing, people are disturbed by the whale’s bizarre attempts to speak, with many now wondering what else these ocean giants are capable of.
In the video, ABC’s news anchors describe the beluga as cute and friendly, but online viewers have a very different reaction.
A YouTube user joked, “pulls up the bloodthirsty, scary beluga whale photo that actually says ‘I will devour your soul’.”
Another pointed out the contrast between the reporter’s cheerful commentary – “He looks friendly” – and the unsettling image. “The thumbnail literally made my SOUL jump out of its body,” said one viewer. Some laughed at the awkward moment and said, “I laughed so hard when she said ‘He looks friendly’ just as that scary photo appeared.”
One person even tried to explain the behavior: “It makes sense when you consider that the beluga only mimics what it can hear.”
Orca Mimics Human Speech
The whale likely hears human speech only when someone is nearby, underwater, with diving equipment in their mouth, distorting their words. “If you’ve ever gone swimming and tried to talk, it sounds just like that,” the explanation continued.
But it’s not just belugas. Earlier this year, a recording of an orca from 2018 surfaced, featuring the same eerie imitation of human speech. This was part of a scientific study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, in which researchers from Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Chile confirmed the orcas’ ability to mimic human sounds.
Josep Call, a professor at the University of St. Andrews and co-author of the study, explained: “It tells us that they are flexible vocal learners and their flexibility is not just in their vocal domain but also in their motor domain.”
He added: “They can also copy body movements, which we already knew before, but now we know they can also copy sounds and vocalizations that are not part of their natural repertoire.”
If you need more reasons to appreciate whales and the animal kingdom, you’ve surely found one now – what incredible beings are swimming in the ocean.
It’s even more important to fight for them and their way of life. Feel free to share this article if you agree!
