Orcas, known for their intelligence and hunting prowess, have once again captured attention. A killer whale named Wilkie has been recorded imitating human speech. This includes producing recognizable sounds of words like 'hello,' 'one, two,' and 'bye bye,' even mimicking its trainer's name, 'Amy'.
The recording, part of a 2018 study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, explores orcas' ability to mimic human words. Researchers aimed to understand how flexible killer whales are in copying sounds, presenting them with novel sounds not in their typical repertoire.
Josep Call, a professor at the University of St Andrews, highlighted the impressiveness of this imitation. Despite significant morphological differences, Wilkie managed to produce sounds closely resembling human speech. Wilkie correctly pronounced 'hello' more than half the time, suggesting orcas learn sounds through vocal imitation.
While the imitation is remarkable, Call assures that there is no evidence orcas understand the meaning behind the words they mimic. This research sheds light on the vocal learning capabilities of these marine mammals. It also sparks both fascination and amusement among listeners.