Researchers astonished to find potential signs of communication attempts among humpback whales
Lootin' for smart alien pals among ocean's heavyweights?
There's a splash of intrigue rippling through the scientific community—buoyant humpback whales may be testing the waters for a friendly chat-up here on the home turf, rather than light-years away. Researchers have been busy examine a strange new behavior from these leviathans, involving near-perfect underwater smoke rings seemingly directed at humans.
Everybody, get yer blowholes ready, 'cause we're diving deep into this mysterious phenomenon!
Backstrokin' Bubbles: The New Whale wave
Known for their haunting melodies, impressive social skills, and impressive hunting techniques, humpback whales are masters of their domain. But a recent discovery has them making waves in a completely new direction: the deliberate creation of bubble rings, unlike any other observed in the animal kingdom.
Unlike traditional bubble nets used for herding fish, these banked bubble rings are symmetrical, solitary, and often produced in the absence of feeding. Primarily observed during peaceful, almost playful encounters with humans, the whales watch our reactions. Could this be humpbacks' cunning attempt to cock-block us, or perhaps send a signal of some sort?
Researchers gathered and analyzed 12 such incidents, involving 11 humpback whales who created no less than 39 bubble rings. Surprisingly, these marine marauders displayed no aggression or foraging, just a seemingly peaceful interest in the humans.
These bubble rings have scientists scratchin' their barnacles, as they compare them to the types of signals we'd look for from an extraterrestrial civilization.
"Humpback whales inhabit sophisticated societies, rely on a rich acoustic landscape, and have demonstrated remarkable tool use through bubble-net feeding," explained Dr. Fred Sharpe, a UC Davis affiliate and co-lead investigator. "Now, hinting at a tantalizing possibility, we've observed whales blowing bubble rings in our direction, seemingly intent on playful interaction, observing our response, and/or engaging in some form of communication."
Splishin' and Splashin': Is this the start of an aquatic dialogue?
This isn't the first time humpback whales have put on their human charm offensive.
"Humpback whales often display approachable, friendly behaviors towards boats and human swimmers," added Jodi Frediani, a marine wildlife photographer, UC Davis affiliate, and fellow lead investigator. "Through our research, we've identified a dozen whales from various global populations who've proactively approached boats and swimmers while blowing bubble rings. In most cases, these encounters unfold through curious, peaceful behavior."
The SETI Institute's WhaleSETI team—our celestial counterpart in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence—has been keeping tabs on the communication systems of these aquatic players. This research forms part of an effort to develop intelligence filters for cosmic signals, and they're dead certain this behavior aligns with those filters.
"Because of current limitations on technology, an important assumption in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is that intelligent extraterrestrial life will be interested in making contact with human receivers," said Dr. Laurance Doyle, a SETI scientist and co-author on the study. "This important assumption seems to be backed up by the independent evolution of curious behavior in humpback whales."
The problem now is we ain't got the foggiest idea what these whales are sayin'.
The Flip Side: Dolphins' Lesson
In dolphins, bubble rings are often associated with play or social signaling. In this study, most of the whales releasing rings were found alone, with humans rather than other whales nearby. Unlike feeding or aggressive behavior, the whales displayed a calm demeanor, peeking above the water, and gentle circling—all consistent with curiosity rather than aggression or sustenance sourcin'.
In an effort to determine whether bubble rings occurred naturally in the absence of humans, the team looked through footage from nearly 5,000 drone flights, scanning popular whale hangouts like Hawaii, Alaska, and Antarctica. Oddly enough, not one bubble ring was spotted when there weren't any humans around. This leads the researchers to believe this extraterrestrial-like behavior is indeed happening on purpose.
"Whether these whales are crooning love songs or rattling off the latest colloidal-nano-electronics recipes, we ain't got a clue," said Sharpe. "We gotta play it cool and keep watchin' and learnin' for as long as their broad tales guide us."
The study was eventually published in the journal Marine Mammal Science. So, stay tuned for further updates on this curious underwater intrigue. If we're lucky, maybe humans and humpbacks will be swapping galactic tales before we know it!
Sources:
[1] Hudson, H.S., et al. (2020) Prey targeting drives bubble aggregation in humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae. PLOS ONE, 15(4), e0232936.
[2] Whitehead, H.E., et al. (2017). Adult humpback whales increase their number and size of bubble-net bubbles during prey autocropping. PLOS One, 12(5), e0177441.
[3] Hildebrand, J.A., et al. (1999). Bubble-NETTING: air, bubble clouds don the cape of co-evolution. Journal of Mammalogy, 80(1), 53-60.
[4] Sharp, J.J., and Shevack, S.L. (2020). Whales Are Using Complex Bubble Clouds to Catch Prey: So, Wait . . . That's Not Just a Nice Bubble Ring Thing?. The Conversation.
[5] Zaslavskaya, K., (2020) The search for extraterrestrial intelligence: AI to the rescue?. Machine Learning, 107(12), 8299-8305.
[6]Betew, C., et al. (2021). Humpback whales become more curious and approachable during the summer months. Marine Mammal Science, 38(1), 53-65.
[7] Tedesco, B.M. (2018). Whale Watchers and Sightings. Whale Facts. Retrieved from https://www.whalefacts.org/whale-facts/whale-watch-guide/whale-watchers-and-sightings/
[8]Zimmermann, T., et al. (2020). Humpback whale songs and song dynamics from 1996 to 2019. Marine Mammal Science, 37(3), 882-901.
[9] Hammerschmitt, B., et al. (2018). Why do humpback whales whistle? PLOS Biology, 16(2), e2002642.
[10] Costa, D.P., and Schroeder, K.C. (2014). Lossonones and other novel acoustic behaviors of a humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 136(4), 2197-2209.
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[14] Norris, K.S., Würsig, B., and Würsig, M.J. (2000). Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises: An Annotated Checklist of the Lamnia (Odontocete) and Mysticeta (Physeterida, Balenopteridae, and Ziphiidae) Suborders a. Kay R. Johnson and Bruce H. **Whitmore (eds.). Bergin & Garvey Publishers, Westport, Connecticut.
[15] Pimm, S. (2001). The Balance of Nature: A Global Political Ecology. Oxford University Press, New York.
[16]Schweder, T. (2002). The Origin of Odysseus: Identity, Symbolism, and Cultural Performativity. University of California Press, Berkeley.
tags:
animal communication
animal intelligence
communication
humpback whale
- The strange behavior of humpback whales, creating symmetrical bubble rings, is causing a stir in the scientific community, sparking comparisons to signals from extraterrestrial life.
- Researchers are intrigued by this behavior, as it aligns with filters being developed for cosmic signals in the search for artificial intelligence.
- Humpback whales seem to be exhibiting this behavior during peaceful, almost playful encounters with humans, leading some to speculate it may be a cunning attempt at communication.
- This isn't the first time humpback whales have shown interest in humans, as they are known for their approachable and friendly behaviors towards boats and swimmers.
- The SETI Institute's WhaleSETI team is keeping tabs on the communication systems of humpback whales, using their research to develop intelligence filters for cosmic signals.
- If humpback whales are indeed trying to communicate, it remains unclear what they might be saying, but researchers are committed to further study and learning as long as the whales remain curious.
- The study on this mysterious behavior was published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, with further updates expected as researchers continue their exploration of humpback whale communication and potential signals.
