For decades, scientists have studied dolphin communication — and now, they’ve confirmed something amazing: dolphin whistles are actual words. This groundbreaking discovery reveals that dolphins may have a complex language system, using specific sounds to refer to objects, actions, and even each other. In this video, we explore how the research was done, what it means, and why this could be one of the most important breakthroughs in animal intelligence.
Are dolphins speaking their own language? Let’s find out. What do YOU think dolphins are saying? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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00:00Okay, get this. Dolphins can phone each other. This is not a joke, but a fact confirmed by scientists.
00:07They put a mother and a baby dolphin in two separate aquariums and conducted special underwater audio communication between them.
00:15When the connection was turned on and the dolphins heard each other's voices, they started chatting.
00:20Their conversation consisted of happy whistles, chirps, and clicks.
00:24You've probably heard this chatter in wildlife movies.
00:27But I wonder, you know, how do the dolphins dial the phones?
00:32Do they have flip phones?
00:33Get it? Flipper? Using a flip phone?
00:36Okay, never mind.
00:37Anyway, the most interesting thing about this experiment is that the mother and the baby recognized each other's voices through the speakers without seeing each other.
00:47They were talking fast, like it was a normal dolphin phone conversation.
00:51Think of a dog that hears its owner's voice from a phone speaker.
00:54Or when you turn on a video of another barking dog.
00:58Your pet is confused and doesn't understand what's going on.
01:01But dolphins started communicating immediately, just like humans.
01:06Many animals communicate with one another through touching, gestures, biting, or growling.
01:11But dolphins have shown they can communicate without direct contact.
01:15If they understand clacking, clicking, and whistling, it means only one thing.
01:20Dolphins have their own complex, developed language.
01:23And scientists hope to learn it.
01:26Scientists called one of the elements of their language signature whistles.
01:29They use whistles to call others by name, to convey information, and to warn of danger.
01:35This is one of the most difficult forms of communication in the animal world.
01:39These whistles vary, depending on the situation and the dolphin species.
01:44They raise or lower the tone, shorten the duration of the sound, or increase it by exchanging short or long words.
01:52To compare the language of dolphins with other species, scientists have compiled a table of sound properties,
01:58such as length, clarity, pitch, pattern, and others.
02:02According to all the data, dolphins have the largest sound palette.
02:06Larks, you know, the bird, took second place, by the way.
02:09But even with all this data, we still don't know much about the complexity and diversity of their language.
02:16In one of the latest studies on this topic, scientists analyze about a thousand dolphin communication recordings made over the past 40 years.
02:23But even after that, we can't even come close to understanding it.
02:28It's possible that AI will handle this better than humans.
02:31We aren't aware of how to speak using signature whistles, but scientists know for sure that dolphins use them to express their emotional state,
02:40to share news, and to tell each other about the dangers or where their prey swims.
02:45Scientists believe that dolphins can talk about anything.
02:48They can rejoice and complain to each other.
02:51They even communicate in different styles at the same time, like people who are chatting at a noisy party.
02:57But in addition to sound signals, they use body postures, jaw claps, bubble blowing, and fin stroking.
03:04They form groups, assign tasks, and work as a team.
03:08If one dolphin knows a place with food, it will tell its friends about that, like Instagram.
03:14If they spot a shark, they'll warn others about it.
03:17There was even a case where two bottlenose dolphins scared a spotted dolphin.
03:21A couple of days later, this dolphin returned to that place with its friends.
03:25It's like when some bad guy bullies you, and then you call your friends to help deal with him.
03:30What if we learn dolphins' language and find out that they're smarter than humans?
03:35What if they gossip about the human race and laugh at, like,
03:38Oh, brother, get a load of these dumb people.
03:41They're fighting each other over nothing.
03:43What do they spend their lives on?
03:44Why don't they just chill and enjoy life?
03:47They create too many problems for themselves.
03:50It's a good thing we're smarter than them and can just relax in the ocean.
03:53Yeah, dude, let's stay away from them.
03:56Or maybe they know a lot more about nature and the ocean than people do.
04:00What if they discuss the problems of the ocean and have unknown technologies?
04:05Of course, these are all theories.
04:07But just imagine how cool it would be if you could understand dolphins and respond to them using a special program.
04:13You could get yourself a good friend that's interesting to talk to and can take you for a ride in the waves.
04:19Unfortunately, at the moment, it's still very unlikely.
04:24Dolphins are too fast swimmers.
04:26It's difficult to constantly record their communication using high-tech equipment.
04:30Even the slightest change in the dolphin's whistling is associated with their actions.
04:35Their whistles may sound the same, but the context is different.
04:39They play, fight with one another, chase fish, or run away from a large shark.
04:43And all the time, they use their language.
04:47Well, we have the same situation.
04:49We raise our hands when we want to say hello.
04:52But we also raise them when saying goodbye.
04:54Our wow reaction can mean both joy and horror, depending on the context.
04:59Dolphins have the same complex communication.
05:02For example, they clap their jaws when they fight each other.
05:05But they also do it when they play.
05:08Dolphins are unique not only because of their brains and the way they communicate.
05:12Perhaps you don't know that dolphins are not fish.
05:16They're mammals.
05:17Yeah, you knew that.
05:18They can't breathe underwater because they don't have gills.
05:21They come to the surface, take a deep breath, and swim for about 10 minutes.
05:26Then they repeat this process.
05:28Unlike fish, dolphins don't lay eggs.
05:31They give birth to cubs.
05:33And they feed them with milk.
05:35They also have body hair.
05:36Yep, newborn dolphins have hair on their beaks.
05:39They lose it soon after birth.
05:41Why do they need this hair?
05:43Scientists believe that this is an evolutionary echo from the time when dolphins lived on land.
05:49And here's another strange fact.
05:51We've all heard how millions of years ago, fish began to slowly come ashore.
05:56During evolution, they changed their appearance, adapting to new life on solid ground.
06:01And so they gradually turned into mammals.
06:04But dolphins are unique since their development is kind of reversed.
06:08They were originally amphibians that lived near bodies of water.
06:12The ancestors of those amphibians were artiodactyl mammals, similar to deer.
06:18Not only dolphins, but also whales and porpoises have the same evolutionary path.
06:23All of them are called cetaceans.
06:26They made a big step from land to water about 50 million years ago.
06:30What if these ancient deer-like animals were the most intelligent creatures on Earth
06:35that realized that living in the water was much better than living on land?
06:39And they haven't regretted that decision yet.
06:42Dolphins have a big brain.
06:45Chimpanzees and humans have brains of the same size, and they all have something in common.
06:50Dolphins have a long lifespan, and they form groups.
06:53They show the emotions of sadness, grief, happiness, and joy.
06:58They can assess situations and solve problems.
07:01But the coolest thing is they can pass the mirror test.
07:04That means they recognize their reflection in the mirror.
07:07They don't just look at themselves.
07:09No, they pay attention to the parts of their bodies that they can't see otherwise.
07:14They examine their movements in the mirror.
07:16Their behavior in front of a mirror is not much different than that of humans.
07:20This indicates their self-awareness and high intelligence.
07:24Do they feel sad if they don't like their body?
07:27Can they be happy if they have, let's say, a beautiful tail?
07:31In addition to these features, dolphins have a real superpower, echolocation.
07:37By producing clicks and whistles, they can find their relatives that are pretty far away.
07:41They can spot prey or an enemy despite poor visibility in the ocean.
07:45This power allows them to sense a metal implant in the body of a swimming person.
07:51We are 70% water.
07:53Therefore, when we dive into the sea or ocean, for dolphins, we become part of their echolocation field.
07:59When they emit a sound, the sound waves crash into a metal object inside the human body,
08:05and the dolphins immediately feel it.
08:07And some dolphin species can turn off half their brain while sleeping.
08:11One eye is kept closed, and the other eye monitors the situation so as not to miss danger.
08:18Ooh, smarty-pants dolphins!
08:23That's it for today.
08:24So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
08:29Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side!
