These scientists are trying to make a connection between the deep sea and outer space.
A group of scientists say they have the first-of-its-kind conversation with a humpback whale that could one day lead to humans communicating with aliens.
The unusual exchange took place between researchers and a female humpback in August 2021 for 20 minutes in southeast Alaska. Scientists play recorded “contact” calls that explode underwater, attracting whales to their boats, according to a new study.
The marine mammal, named Twain, circled the team’s boat and consistently responded in conversational style to “greeting signals,” according to a SETI Institute news release.
Dr. Brenda McCowan, of UC Davis, hailed the breakthrough.
“We believe this is the first communicative exchange between a human and a humpback whale in the ‘language’ of the humpback,” said McCowan, who was lead author of the study recently published in the peer-reviewed journal PeerJ.
Scientists say they have a first-of-its-kind conversation with a humpback whale that could one day lead to humans communicating with aliens. Orlando Florin Rosu – stock.adobe.com
After Twain reached the boat, the scientist issued 36 calls from the loudspeaker. The whale responded to each one and matched the variation in intervals between signals, the study said.
“It certainly feels like we’ve been heard,” Fred Sharpe, co-author and principal investigator with the Alaska Whale Foundation, told Business Insider. “And we hope he feels the same way.”
Sharpe said in a statement that humpback whales are “highly intelligent” and can “communicate widely with both songs and social calls.”
The whales circled the team boat and consistently responded in conversational style to “signals of greeting,” according to a SETI Institute news release.
The deployed underwater calls came from a handful of whales recorded the day before the encounter with Twain, which was also recorded, the outlet reported.
“We might have replayed his own ‘hello,'” quipped Sharpe.
Laurance Doyle, an investigator at the SETI Institute and co-author of the paper, said the implications of the study are out of this world.
“It certainly feels like we’ve been heard,” said Fred Sharpe, co-author and principal investigator with the Alaska Whale Foundation. Jodi Frediani
Doyle explained to Business Insider that the whale’s actions may be an indicator of how aliens can connect with people. It’s similar to how Antarctica is studied as a proxy for Mars.
It’s similar to how Antarctica is studied as a proxy for Mars.
“Because of current limitations on technology, an important assumption in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is that extraterrestrials will be interested in making contact and targeting human receivers,” Doyle said, according to a SETI press release. “This important assumption is certainly supported by the behavior of humpback whales.”
Dr. Brenda McCowan (left) says she believes “this is the first such communication exchange between humans and humpback whales in ‘language'” Jodi Frediani
Doyle and his SETI colleagues worked with staff at UC Davis and the Alaska Whale Foundation to create a filter that could help them find habitation from other planets. Doyle told Business Insider researchers don’t want to miss any potential signals that aliens are using in an attempt to contact people.
“There are multiple intelligences on this planet, and by studying them, we can better understand how intelligent aliens are because they won’t be the same as us,” McCowan told the outlet.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
