Savannah Peterson
2/5/2018
2/5/2018
A recent study involving a young orca named Wikie has concluded that orcas can imitate human speech. This study came about to explore the complex societies that are orca pods. It has been shown in the past that orca pods are capable of intraspecies communication at a level that even includes different dialects. This raises questions like, if the communication is complex enough to be distinguishable from pod to pod, what is the level of complex thought behind it? And if there is a rudimentary language of sorts, do orcas also possess culture? The fact that families of orcas communicate in ways unique to their upbringing suggests some sort of "vocal tradition" as the article puts it.
Wikie was tasked with explaining this behavior by copying sounds of her trainer and sounds played for her like a creaky door and laughter for a reward of fish. Her ability to quickly mimic the sounds in a few tries was impressive and enlightening for the scientists involved. The objective of the study was not to actually teach Wikie the words and their meanings, but to see if the mimicry of sounds is indeed part of the orca learning process. Wikie's responses showed that some part of the social bonds in orca pods are likely based in their communication and in teaching the young to communicate. More research needs to be done to determine how this mimicry could be different underwater (as Wikie's study was done above water) and how mimicry occurs in the wild, but it seems that there is much to be learned about the complex social structures in orca pods.
This article also went on to discuss the fact that orcas are not the only animals capable of mimicking human speech. Belugas, dolphins, an elephant, and many species of birds have been known to attempt it, some without prompting. Although African Grey Parrots are still the only animals that have consistently proven themselves capable of understanding the words they say, the attempts made by other animals could be significant. There is vocal mimicry found in the animal kingdom specifically for luring prey or scaring off predators, but the imitations discussed in the article suggest more of an attempt for interspecies bonding if not communication.
I chose this article because I think the idea that other animals have some sort of complex thought and social structure based on communication is fascinating. There is so much to learn from other animals and now, it seems there is a possibility of their being able to learn from us, beyond the usual reward conditioning. I think that this new research into the communication abilities of wildlife could provide insight into our own development as a species, and if not, this could at least begin to change the way humans view animals and how we define intelligence.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/orca-quickly-learns-to-mimic-human-speech/
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ReplyDeleteI loved this blog because I am a huge animal lover and love learning everything I can about animals and their behaviors. I found this post very interesting because it shows how intelligent the animals around us really are. As science continues to advance we continue to learn about the animals around us and how intelligent they really are. The more I learn about animals the more I am reminded that we as humans are not so superior to animals as we might think. I really enjoyed learning about the experiment that the scientists performed with the Orca Wikie, and how quickly this Orca was able to replicate sounds that it heard. I also found it surprising how many animals we know of to this point that can mimic human speech. The animals around us are truly amazing and I am excited to continue to learn more about them.
ReplyDeleteHayden G.
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ReplyDeleteI also loved this blog post! I think it's so cool to understand and learn more about the other creatures that we share Earth with, and how they live their lives. This post gave me more insight on how intelligent animals are, sometimes more intelligent than some humans. Often we look at animals but look down on them because we don't see the capabilities they have, we really should look at how we can learn from them. I really enjoyed what you had to say about how we view our animals and how we look at intelligence. We have so much to learn from them! - Alex L.
ReplyDeleteI think we all liked this blog post. Orca's are extremely smart creatures and who doesn't love the idea of animals trying their hardest to be human too! I feel like we should skip over getting them to imitate sounds and try to get them to repeat stand up comedy routines. That would really be the height of science in my opinion!! But, more seriously, it's very interesting to think about how different orca pods have differing dialects and types of communication. Just like how humans have different languages. I agree, I think studying to see if Orca's can continue and advance their language skills would be fascinating!! -C.H.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post about our big friends in the water. I've always had a love for marine life and it is so interesting to hear that orcas, like Wikie, are able to communicate and mimic sounds even with those not of their same species. What really intrigued me about this article was the assumption that orcas and other animals have complex thoughts and feelings. I mean if something is intelligent enough to have a conversion with members of it's family and other forms of life then it opens the door to possible communication between us and them on such a deeper level than thought possible. I also really liked how you stated that this can have implications for us as humans and how we ourselves develop as a species. Thanks for sharing! - T.D.N.
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