Orca whales can learn to ‘speak’ dolphin language, ground-breaking study shows
Killer whales learn to communicate like dolphins
Date:
October 7, 2014
Source:
Acoustical Society of America (ASA)
Summary:
The sounds that most animals use to communicate are innate, not learned. However, a few species, including humans, can imitate new sounds and use them in appropriate social contexts. This ability, known as vocal learning, is one of the underpinnings of language. Now, researchers have found that killer whales can engage in cross-species vocal learning: when socialized with bottlenose dolphins, they shifted the sounds they made to more closely match their social partners.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/orca-whales-can-learn-to-speak-dolphin-language-ground-breaking-study-shows/
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......the team found evidence that orca whales could be trained to make entirely new sounds. One female orca was taught a pattern of chirps by human caretakers that her dolphin pool-mates were taught before she came to live with them, so that when they met, they had the sequence in common.
Vocal learning in and of itself is not evidence that orca whales use language in the way that humans do, the team cautioned, but is evidence of neural plasticity in the animals, an ability of their brains to adapt to new tasks and change how information is interpreted and handled.
“Killer whales seem to be really motivated to match the features of their social partners,” Bowles said, although it’s currently unknown what evolutionary purpose the ability serves.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/orca-whales-can-learn-to-speak-dolphin-language-ground-breaking-study-shows/
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