http://youtu.be/E19vQOiZ8z8For as much as we share a mutual curiousity with one another, humans and our whale counterparts have been long divided by much more than just the watery realm they call home -- namely the language barrier. But while whales' rich vocabulary of squeaks and sonorous calls is a far departure to our own undoubtably garbled-seeming tongues, at least one beluga is evidently willing to give speaking 'human' a try.
According to a report from the BBC, biologists from California's National Marine Mammal Foundation have found evidence that our ocean-going mammalian counterparts may be capable of mimicking our language. After hearing an animal speaking in an uncannily human-like way at their facility in San Diego, researchers finally found the source: a captive beluga, or white whale, named NOC.
Thankfully, to back up this whale of a tale, researchers were able to catch some of that chatter on tape:
Sure, it might sound a bit more like a kazoo than Kronkite, but cut NOC some slack. When we break down these sounds with science, it's really quite remarkable.
UPDATE: A previous version of this article indicated that the beluga was discovered in the wild, when in fact he was held in captivity.
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