Dolphins are presented with whistles

Dolphins never cease to amaze us with their extraordinary communication skills. Not only are they able to understand human commands or imitate the sounds of other animals, but they also use individual whistles to “introduce themselves” when they meet their peers.

The signature whistles are a characteristic sound of each dolphin that allows it to differentiate itself from others. In captivity, dolphins emit them when separated from their group, but until now, little was known about the use of signature whistles in the wild. So a team of biologists from the University of St. Andrews (UK) decided to follow a group of bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus ) near the east coast of Scotland and record their “conversations” with other individuals.

As explained in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. , these cetaceans use their signature whistles when they meet other groups. In addition, the hiss is emitted only by one of the animals, which could have several explanations. One of them is that the group has a kind of leader who is in charge of making the presentations. Another, that the dolphins already knew each other before, or, finally, that the whistle is something more than a mere ritual and is used to locate the groups through the echo.
The work raises new questions. Since dolphins are capable of imitating the signature whistles of their fellows, could they use them to “talk” to each other about a dolphin that is not present? The signature whistles could be a means by which these intelligent animals interact and establish their social relationships.