Posted on 01/31/2018 11:49:53 AM PST by nickcarraway
An ability to learn through copying may explain why whales develop unique dialects.
An orca, or killer whale, in France can vocalize several English words, suggesting the species is capable of mimicking human speech.
The 14-year-old female, named Wikie, can say "hello," "one, two," "ah ha," "bye bye," and "Amy."
"You cannot pick a word that is very complicated because then I think you are asking too much -- we wanted things that were short but were also distinctive," Josep Call, a professor in evolutionary origins of mind at the University of St. Andrews, told The Guardian.
Call is the co-author of a paper on Wikie's feat, newly published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Wikie first showcased her knack for mimicry by copying the movements of other orcas, as directed by human hand gestures. Later, Wikie copied orca sounds. Eventually, researchers taught her English words.
The orca doesn't get it right all the time. "Hello" is the only word she can say correctly more than 50 percent of the time, but acoustic analysis proved Wikie is indeed making an effort to say the words she's being taught.
Wikie isn't "talking," and she's not the first species to copy human sounds. Dolphins, elephants and parrots have all shown an ability to copy human vocalizations and words.
"Nevertheless, the study... is still important," Call's colleague Luke Rendell wrote in The Conversation. "Not because it means whales can speak English, but that they are capable of one of the core building blocks of language development in humans: vocal learning, the ability to copy novel sounds."
A number of studies have suggested the unique dialects observed in different pods of orcas and other whales can be explained by their ability to learn through mimicry. Now scientists have proof that their hunch was correct.
By better understanding how social learning develops among other species, researchers may be able to better understand how language evolved among early human groups.
I was thinking the same thing.
Killer Whales!
KILLER!
Not Friendly Whales or Good Neighbor Whales!
KILLER Whales!
Pretty soon we’ll be calling Serial Killers “Serial Pals”.
Don’t get me wrong. I like Pilot Whales and Beluga Whales and such.
But Killer Whales?
Oh no.
They earned that name somewhere.
Maybe Chicago.
Can it say “Dinner”?
As in “Hello Dinner”
It was my experience that a large number of seals and sea lions found 12 g 00 buck very yummy when I served it to them. Some - due to moderately rough sea states - came back for seconds - of which I had plenty to go around ... Sorry about whoever that ‘other guy is/was.
In Alaska, the Killer Whales are following the fishing boats and eating the fish that are on the line.
The fisherman reel in, and there’s nothing at the end of the line but fish lips.
So they throw Joy Behar back into the sea and rebait.
Joy Behar would be placed in a king crab pot and unceremoniously launched into the deep, the spot marked on all charts as polluted and unfishable.
Those of you who aren’t fisherman, or as some people call us “drunken liars”, “rebait” is way different from “rebate”.
“Rebate” means to get something back from the purchase price.
“Rebait” means that you’ve fallen asleep and some sneaky fish, like Joy Behar, has grabbed your bait and took off with it. And nobody wants Joy Behar grabbing his bait. So you have to put fresh bait on the hook.
My favorite bait is Twinkies.
You don’t catch a lot of fish, but you never go hungry on the boat.
Try that you filthy worm stabbers.
The main problem they have had so far is the whales always prouncing L as an R sound
In keeping with tradition, we’d have to put a flag over her crab pot before we dumped her into the sea.
Let’s see.....
Which flag......
How about the little red flag in the parking meter that says “Expired”?
Yeah....I think that would work.
When stuffing a person of ‘interest’ into a $1000 sacrificial pot, placing a flag on it that only a crustacean would read if it could read, would be a monumental waste of time as there are real crustaceans to catch and tide and time do not wait - neither does the buyer. Stuff and go, she’ll sink, and expire on the way down.
A thousand bucks?
For Joy Behar?
Couldn’t we just put a fin on her back and let the Japanese harpoon her?
“Godzira! Godzira!”
Joy Behar in the part made for her.
$1000 is the going price last I checked for king crab pot - 800lb of steel rebar and netting - probably use some older pot with broken welds and net holes; remember there is no line or buoys needed so that cuts down on expenses.
The Japanese and other Asian net fleets would find her first and cut their net at the Joy part and sink it. They don’t want her either. Long lines would be tempted just use her for bait, but they’re smart enough to know those hooks would only catch trash fish and might just jinx the entire season - so no they would just tie some old anchor to her and heave it back.
Besides that would mean, absent the first solution, some unfortunate would have to pull up her dead body and that is not to be wished on your worst enemy or Chuck Schummer which ever comes first.
One guy I knew had that experience and it almost killed him - I don’t think he ever recovered.
I don’t know.
I think putting a fin on her gives the Japanese a chance to write a great book,
Moby Behar
You could be like Captain Ahab and I could be like.........damnit......should’ve read the book. I don’t know......Hooper?
The Incredible Mr. Limpet helped beat the Germans in WW2
It is in the history books and the documentary is in most tackle stores.
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