Beluga whale learns to 'talk' to a pod of bottlenose dolphins using whistles and clicks after moving into their tank
- The sea creature was moved to the Koktebel dolphinarium in Crimea
- After two months, it began communicating with the pod of dolphins
- Eventually, the whale lost its signature beluga call altogether
A beluga whale living in captivity with bottlenose dolphins has astounded researchers after it was recorded speaking their unique 'language'.
The sea creature was moved to the Koktebel dolphinarium in Crimea in November 2013 when it was four years old where it was monitored by scientists.
Despite some initial difficulties, the whale quickly integrated into the pod, which consisted of one adult male, two adult females and a young female, according to researchers Elena Panova and Alexandr Agafonov from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.
The sea creature was moved to the Koktebel dolphinarium in Crimea in November 2013 when it was four years old where it was monitored by scientists. Pictured: A beluga whale
Within months, the whale started to imitate the dolphins before losing its signature beluga call altogether, Science Alert reported.
'Two months after the beluga's introduction into a new facility, we found that it began to imitate whistles of the dolphins, whereas one type of its own calls seemed to disappear,' researchers said.
But, they added: 'The inspection of the audio recordings made before and after the beluga's introduction revealed that the cross-species imitation was not reciprocal.
'While the imitations of dolphin whistles were regularly detected among the beluga's vocalisations, we found only one case in which the dolphins produced short calls that resembled (but were not identical in physical parameters) those of the beluga.'
Within months, the whale started to imitate the dolphins before losing its signature beluga call altogether. Pictured: Bottlenose dolphins
But while the whale was able to effectively imitate its companions, it is not known if the creature was able to understand the language.
Dubbed 'sea canaries,' beluga whales make a wide range of whistles, grunts and clicks, and use echolocation to navigate under ice and find prey in murky water.
They mostly eat fish, squid, crustaceans and octopi and have 34 teeth designed not for chewing, but for grabbing and tearing prey.
The research was published in the journal Animal Cognition
Most watched News videos
- Terrifying moment driver overtakes van and narrowly avoids crash
- Sally Nugent hilariously finds out 'hedgehog' is a hat bobble
- Camilla hands out gifts at Royal Maundy ceremony on behalf of King
- Queen Camilla greets children after traditional Maundy service
- Starmer and Rayner embrace as they launch election campaign
- Three men seen running out of Beckenham station after knife attack
- British man fighting for Putin posts video from Russia online
- 'Satan took over me': Hamas terrorist confesses of raping woman
- Tourist is filmed napping in his tent on the beach with a crocodile
- Hilarious moment King's Guard shout 'make way' at pigeons in London
- Russian plane spiralling out of control crashes in sea in Crimea
- Police tape off Kennington station after 'multiple stabbings'