According to a report on the American Fun Science website on the 17th, American scientists recently successfully "talked" with a humpback whale named Twain through underwater speakers, and recorded the "contact number" of the call back to the humpback whale. The research team said that this "dialogue" between humans and humpback whales provides valuable experience for human beings to communicate with extraterrestrial life in the future.
The latest research was carried out by scientists from SETI Institute, University of California, Davis and Alaska Whale Foundation. SETI Institute pointed out in a statement that in Journey Home, the fourth film of Star Trek series, the information sent by an alien probe unintentionally destroyed human technology, and the crisis was solved only when the protagonist and his crew realized that it was trying to communicate with whales on earth. This kind of inter-species communication is of great significance to the search for extraterrestrial life.
Fred Sharp, the co-author of the latest study and the Alaska Whale Foundation, said in a statement that humpback whales are very smart, have a complex social system, make tools to fish, and communicate extensively through songs. Cooperation with humpback whales provides a unique opportunity for scientists to study the intelligent communication of non-human species.
In the latest research, Twain responded to researchers’ calls by matching the interval change between each playback call signal within 20 minutes. After hearing the "contact number" played by the underwater speaker, Twain would swim close and circle the team’s boat. The research team said that this kind of "communication" shows a complex level of understanding and interaction, reflecting a dialogue style similar to human beings. Brenda McGovern of the University of California, Davis, said in a statement that this is the first time that such communication has been conducted between humans and humpback whales in the "language" of humpback whales.
It is reported that the team is further studying the humpback whale communication system to better understand how to detect and interpret signals from outer space. These findings can also help to develop filters to receive extraterrestrial signals reaching the earth and to find extraterrestrial life. (Reporter Liu Xia)
Reporting/feedback