For the first time in history, a team of researchers has conducted extensive acoustic analysis to show that a male beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas ) has developed the ability to imitate human voices . ? The cetacean has modified its vocal mechanisms to emit sounds that resemble those of human speech ,? explains Sam Ridgway, from the National Marine Mammal Foundation in the United States. This effort, adds Ridgway, hides a clear motivation for contact with the humans around him. The sound recorded by the scientists can be heard here .
The scientists analyzed the recording of the sound produced by the whale to show that its rhythm is similar to that of human speech and that the fundamental frequencies are several octaves below the typical sound of a whale, that is, much closer to the human voice .
The finding is surprising, among other things, because whales emit sounds through the nasal tract, unlike humans who use the larynx. Thus, to imitate the voice of a person, the animal had to modify the pressure of its nasal passages and make several muscular adjustments at the same time that it inflated the vestibular sac of its blowhole – the hole located in the back through which it breathes. . Ultimately, a "complicated" process, as described by Ridgway and his team in the journal Current Biology .
