Scientists share audio from first-of-its-kind human-to-whale conversation that could lead to alien contact
Scientists from the SETI Institute and the University of California have shared audio from what's believed to be the first-ever conversation between humans and whales.
The scientific feat took place off the coast of south-east Alaska in 2021, when a team of six scientists armed themselves with an underwater speaker and attempted to get the attention of some whales.
The team used the speaker to play a recording of a humpback greeting call, and were stunned when one whale they'd named Twain 'spoke' back - marking the first intentional human-whale interaction in the 'language' of whales.
Over the course of the next 20 minutes, the whale appeared to engage in a 'conversation' with the scientists, which included 36 responses from the whale.
As humpback whale songs are thought to be among the most complex in the animal kingdom, the SETI (Search for extraterrestrial intelligence) research team are hopeful that deciphering their communications could help us communicate with extra-terrestrials.
If we ever encounter them, that is.
Though the interaction was a milestone moment, McCowan made clear that the research is only in its infancy.
Researchers will need to replicate the data with multiple unique pods to get a clearer picture of the communication.
As they continue their research, the team next plan to vary the calls they broadcast.
Co-author Dr. Laurance Doyle, of the SETI Institute, told UC Davis: "Because of current limitations on technology, an important assumption of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is that extraterrestrials will be interested in making contact and so target human receivers.
"This important assumption is certainly supported by the behavior of humpback whales."
Next we just need some aliens who are willing to reach out to us...
Source : https://www.unilad.com/news/animals/human-to-whale-conversation-audio-recording-581753-20240418 |