Orcas may join parrots and the other animals who can imitate human speech. A study examined a captive orca who is able to mimic human sounds and words. Listeners may find the voice eerie but some of the phrases are unmistakable. Not only that, the researchers believe that this mimicry can explain why killer whale pods have different dialects. The real question is: Does the orca understand the words she\u2019s saying?<\/p>\n
Meet Wikie
\nWikie the orca in her home in Marineland Aquarium in France
\nPhotos by Marineland Antibes (provided by Sara Farrell)
\nThe study is based on a killer whale called Wikie, who lives in Marineland Aquarium in Antibes, France. She is capable of sounds like \u201chello,\u201d \u201cAmy,\u201d and blowing raspberries. What\u2019s remarkable is that Wikie is capable of mimicking her trainer\u2019s words with little to no practice. Sometimes she succeeds on her first try.<\/p>\n
Imitating orcas
\nWikie is capable of repeating human words and sounds
\nPhotos by Inherently Wild (provided by Marion)
\nMimicry is a known part of the species\u2019 abilities. Orcas copy the movements of their kin, and some reports suggest they imitate the noises of sea lions and bottlenose dolphins.
\n\u201cWe wanted to see how flexible a killer whale can be in copying sounds,\u201d said Josep Call, professor at the University of St. Andrews and a co-author of the study, to the Guardian. \u201cWe thought what would be really convincing is to present them with something that is not in their repertoire \u2014 and in this case \u2018hello\u2019 [is] not what a killer whale would say.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trained to copy
\nWikie and her then-newborn calf, Moana
\nPhotos by Marineland Antibes
\nThe study was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, and the authors came from the UK, Chile, Spain, and Germany. Together, they researched 14-year-old Wikie. She has undergone past training to copy another killer whale\u2019s movements when instructed by her trainer. The researchers used the same gesture to signal her to \u201ccopy\u201d three sounds made by Moana, her three-year-old calf.<\/p>\n
Teaching Wikie new sounds
\nWikie during a show, waiting for her trainer\u2019s instructions
\nPhotos by Inherently Wild) (provided by Robin Alex Sch\u00e4fer)
\nThe researchers then exposed Wikie to five unique orca sounds she was unfamiliar with, including some that were akin to a creaky door and \u201cblowing a raspberry\u201d. Lastly, they had her listen to a human making orca noises, in addition to words like \u201chello,\u201d \u201cbye bye,\u201d \u201cone, two,\u201d and \u201cAmy\u201d. These sounds were chosen deliberately.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot pick a word that is very complicated because then I think you are asking too much,\u201d said Call. \u201cWe wanted things that were short but were also distinctive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Copying orca and human noises
\nAs an orca, Wikie lacks the biology humans use to speak
\nPhoto by Inherently Wild (provided by M\u00e9lanie Fauchier)
\nWikie\u2019s replies were judged by her two trainers. After that, six researchers confirmed the recordings, without knowing which ones they are, and matched them to the original word or sound. Doing so, the authors noted that Wikie was quick to copy noises from orcas and humans over the course of 17 trials.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what makes it even more impressive. Even though the morphology [of orcas] is so different, they can still produce a sound that comes close to what another species, in this case us, can produce,\u201d said Call. Recordings of Wikie\u2019s mimicry have been posted on YouTube.<\/p>\n
A demonstration of orca vocal imitation
\nWild Orcas Whales pod in open water in blue ocean
\nSource: Shutterstock
\nEven more remarkable, Wikie accurately mimicked the human making orca sounds on her first try. She also correctly sounded two human utterances on her first attempt. All of her noises were made with her head out of the water.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think here we have the first evidence that killer whales may be learning sounds by vocal imitation, and this is something that could be the basis of the dialects we observe in the wild; it is plausible,\u201d said Call. However, further studies on wild orcas will need to prove this theory.<\/p>\n
Some caveats
\nKiller Whale \u2013 (Orcinus Orca)
\nSource: Shutterstock
\nHowever, don\u2019t mistake mimicry for speaking. Call denounced the idea that Wikie is \u201cspeaking English\u201d. As he explained, \u201cWe have no evidence that they understand what their \u2018hello\u2019 stands for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Irene Pepperberg, an expert in parrot cognition at Harvard University, calls the research \u201cexciting\u201d but pointed out an important caveat. \u201cA stronger test would have been whether the various sounds produced could be correctly classified by humans without the models present for comparison,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Other animal mimics
\nPair of big Scarlet Macaws, Ara macao, two birds sitting on the branch, Brazil. Wildlife love scene from tropical forest nature. Two beautiful parrots in green habitat.
\nSource: Shutterstock
\nWikie is far from the first animal who imitated human speech. Parrots typically come to mind, but elephants, dolphins, beluga whales, and orangutans have been recorded making human sounds, according to National Geographic. What\u2019s fascinating is how each one achieves this. Without human vocal cords, Noc, the beluga whale used his nasal cavities. Koshik the elephant put his trunk in his mouth to sound out \u201chello,\u201d \u201cno,\u201d and \u201csit down\u201d in Korean. Without the elements of human anatomy that allow speech, it\u2019s surprising what these animals can imitate. Listen to killer whales mimicking human voices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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