Dolphins Refer To Eachother By Name
Image Credit: Science Mag
We knew Dolphins were smart, but this smart?
A team of marine biologists from the University of St Andrews has been studying the vocal signatures of dolphins, with some mammalian groups being monitored for over 40 years. They recently reached an amazing conclusion: dolphins develop their own individual whistle to describe their identity and the identities of loved ones.
Mothers and their offspring and adult males with their long term friends each had a unique call they made to call for a particular mammal.
Dr Stephanie King of the research said, “Interestingly, this mimicking only occurs in animals who have strong social bonds. It also only occurs when they are separated from each other, and this supports the idea that they want to reunite with the other animals. It is something we see in ourselves, but not in other animals. This could give us a real insight into how certain traits in language and communication have evolved.”
Just how much this research aids us in understanding the minds of our aquatic allies remains to be seen. Could we soon figure out how to converse with dolphins? Maybe even given them their own TV shows?
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Tags: animal communication, dolphin communication, dolphins have names, how smart are dolphins, smartest animals
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