SETI's 1st 'conversation' with a humpback whale...

UC Davis professor cites breakthrough 20-minute ‘conversation’ with humpback whale.

A team that includes a UC Davis professor and a scientist with SETI, the organization that searches the cosmos for signs of alien intelligence, has cited a breakthrough here on Earth – a 20-minute “conversation” with a humpback whale in the wild.


The Templeton Whale-SETI group said its findings on what it calls “non-human intelligence communication” could help in the search for aliens who may not communicate in a way humans might have previously assumed.

In the same way that scientists have studied Antarctica for what insights could prove valuable for a Mars mission, the Whale-SETI group said its studies with humpback whales can help them develop “intelligence filters” used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.



As an example of the whales’ intelligence, the scientists cited their tool-making ability – essentially nets they make out of bubbles to catch fish, with some whales taking on that role as part of large hunting teams.

As part of the scientists’ study to engage them, the team played a humpback “contact” call underwater in the ocean. A whale named Twain approached and circled the team’s boat while responding “in a conversational style” to the audio. The whale matched the interval variations between each signal during the 20-minute exchange.

“There was turn-taking involved, which is relatively rare and not only was the whale engaged vocally but also behavioral, circling the boat. So it was a pretty intentional, if you will, conversation,” UC Davis professor Brenda McCowan told KCRA 3. “It was a limited conversation, but it was turn-taking and matching between calls.” Source: [here]

Poster's footnotes: This kind of research could lead to the invention of Star Trek's universal translator.