Complex speech is one of the stand-out features of humanity... but these animals have figured out how to mimic our voices (though whether they understand what they're saying is debatable!) Take a look at...
Noc began to make unusual vocalizations during his time with the Navy, with the resulting burbling sounding oddly like a pair of humans talking in the distance. In one incident, a trainer thought someone was telling him to get out of the water. It took researchers a while to figure out that Noc was the source of the unknown orders!
The vocalizations produced by Noc were pretty unusual for a whale, following a rhythm and amplitude similar to that of human speech. He had learned to pressurize his vestibular sacs (part of the ear) to produce the low frequencies of human speech, possibly in an attempt to mimic or bond with his keepers. Scientists believe he was merely mimicking the sounds of human speech rather than understanding it.
Elephants naturally have a very deep voice that tends to be out of human hearing range. By altering the dimensions of his mouth, Koshik was able to reach the higher pitches used for human speech.
Scientists don't think the elephant really understands the meaning of the words he mimics. Instead, they suspect he learned the trick in an attempt to bond with his human keepers - after all, he was the sole elephant at the zoo between the ages of five and twelve.
There's also an anecdotal story about lyrebirds adding classical flute music to their songs in parts of Australia. The story goes that a flautist kept a lyrebird as a pet in the 1920s... and that the bird picked up snippets of the flautist's songs. When it was eventually released, the bird's unique songs were picked up by the local population of lyrebirds!
Apparently, the resulting vocalizations have been named "wookies" as they resemble the speech of Chewbacca from Star Wars. It may not be speech as such, but these are the building blocks of spoken language!
Not only are ravens very capable mimics, they tend to adapt well to life near humans - leading to them imitating everything from machinery to voices. One stand-out example is a white-necked raven (native to Africa but living in America) called Mischief, who is quite happy to mimic words (and even coughs) for treats!
Even more impressively, she only took between one and ten attempts to perform a reasonable mimicry. She accomplished this by using her blow-hole to produce the desired sounds!
Bought by Dr. Irene Pepperberg in America, Alex had a vocabulary of over a hundred words, had basic grasp of numeracy (he could count to six along with a concept of zero) and frequently to ordered his "keepers" to perform tasks for him!
He is the only animal (besides humans) known to have ever asked a question. Upon seeing his reflection in a mirror, Alex asked, "What color?"
- The Babbling Beluga
- Elephant Innovation
- The Speaking Seal
- Lyrical Lyrebirds
- Orangutan Oratory
- Repeating Ravens
- An Articulate Orca
- The Conversational Parrot
- Simulating Starlings
- The Foul-Mouthed Waterfowl
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| Quite a few birds are capable of sounding human... (darrenquigley32) |
1. The Babbling Beluga
Would you expect a whale to be a good impressionist? It turns out that the strange cetaceans known as Beluga whales occasionally seem to mimic human voices. "Noc" was one such whale, captured by the American Navy as part of their "Cold Ops" program during the Cold War.Noc began to make unusual vocalizations during his time with the Navy, with the resulting burbling sounding oddly like a pair of humans talking in the distance. In one incident, a trainer thought someone was telling him to get out of the water. It took researchers a while to figure out that Noc was the source of the unknown orders!
The vocalizations produced by Noc were pretty unusual for a whale, following a rhythm and amplitude similar to that of human speech. He had learned to pressurize his vestibular sacs (part of the ear) to produce the low frequencies of human speech, possibly in an attempt to mimic or bond with his keepers. Scientists believe he was merely mimicking the sounds of human speech rather than understanding it.
2. Elephant Innovation
Human speech is quite hard for most animals to mimic because of the differences in our anatomy, but Koshik (an elephant housed in the South Korean Everland Zoo) didn't let that stop him. By placing the tip of his trunk inside his mouth, this inventive pachyderm can modulate his voice.Elephants naturally have a very deep voice that tends to be out of human hearing range. By altering the dimensions of his mouth, Koshik was able to reach the higher pitches used for human speech.
Scientists don't think the elephant really understands the meaning of the words he mimics. Instead, they suspect he learned the trick in an attempt to bond with his human keepers - after all, he was the sole elephant at the zoo between the ages of five and twelve.
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| Hoover the seal learned to mimic his caterers! (Gylfi) |
3. The Speaking Seal
Hoover (an orphaned harbor seal adopted by a family in Maine) came by his name honestly - apparently he had a ravenous hunger for ground-up fish, consuming it like a vacuum cleaner. You might be wondering what that has to do with mimicry. Well, Hoover seemingly tried to form a relationship with those delivering him fish, picking up and mimicking their catchphrases.When the seal grew too big for his home and was moved to the New England Aquarium he fell silent, presumably unnerved by the unfamiliar surroundings and company. He eventually bounced back though and after five years, he began to demand that people "hurry" and "come over here."
4. Lyrical Lyrebirds
Lyrebirds take their name from the error of a British taxidermist, who arranged the long tail of a specimen in the shape of a lyre.Their real claim to fame is an astounding talent for mimicry. They frequently imitate the sounds of their environments, which can result in birdsong spliced with revving chainsaws, cars and even human voices. It's thought that the birds sing to attract mates, with the complexity of their song determining their success.
There's also an anecdotal story about lyrebirds adding classical flute music to their songs in parts of Australia. The story goes that a flautist kept a lyrebird as a pet in the 1920s... and that the bird picked up snippets of the flautist's songs. When it was eventually released, the bird's unique songs were picked up by the local population of lyrebirds!
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| An orangutan has been taught to mimic human tone and pitch... (herbert2512) |
5. Orangutan Oratory
Humans are members of the great apes, which has made plenty of people wonder if our close relatives have any affinity for speech. The answer is "kind of" as a team at Durham University succeeded in training a young orangutan named Rocky to mimic their tone and pitch.Apparently, the resulting vocalizations have been named "wookies" as they resemble the speech of Chewbacca from Star Wars. It may not be speech as such, but these are the building blocks of spoken language!
6. Repeating Ravens
Ravens are highly intelligent birds that feature in a lot of Gothic literature. When Edgar Allen Poe wrote "The Raven," he may not have needed to use artistic license when the titular creature quotes "Nevermore."Not only are ravens very capable mimics, they tend to adapt well to life near humans - leading to them imitating everything from machinery to voices. One stand-out example is a white-necked raven (native to Africa but living in America) called Mischief, who is quite happy to mimic words (and even coughs) for treats!
7. An Articulate Orca
Despite being large oceanic predators, killer whales are surprisingly intelligent creatures... and researchers have recently discovered they possess a penchant for mimicry. Wikie (a fourteen year old orca at the Marineland Aquarium in France) was able to pick up and reproduce a series of sounds presented to her via tape recording.Even more impressively, she only took between one and ten attempts to perform a reasonable mimicry. She accomplished this by using her blow-hole to produce the desired sounds!
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| Alex the parrot had a knack for language... (Ralphs_Fotos) |
8. The Conversational Parrot
Parrots are famous impressionists (I mean, we even call mimicry "parroting") and any self-respecting pirate movie has a parrot croaking, "Pieces of eight" but not all parrots are created equal. The African Gray is a parrot that excels in mimicry and "Alex the Parrot" stood as a paragon of his kind.Bought by Dr. Irene Pepperberg in America, Alex had a vocabulary of over a hundred words, had basic grasp of numeracy (he could count to six along with a concept of zero) and frequently to ordered his "keepers" to perform tasks for him!
He is the only animal (besides humans) known to have ever asked a question. Upon seeing his reflection in a mirror, Alex asked, "What color?"
9. Simulating Starlings
These small chatty birds have a real gift for sound - Mozart is said to have kept one as a pet. European starlings are particularly quick to pick up the noises of their environment. They've been known to copy the calls of other birds, dogs and frogs, even weaving in mobile phones and human speech - sometimes resulting in a baffled human wandering around trying to figure out who's talking!This Youtube video shows off some of the acoustic skills of these birds - do you think it's been watching sci-fi shows recently?
Musk ducks are unusual in that they reproduce in small numbers (rather than the stereotypical train of ducklings following an adult), so ducklings have much more time to interact and bond with a parent. Researchers think that ducks raised by humans (like the above-mentioned Ripper) may attempt to bond with a keeper instead, imitating the noises they make!
10. The Foul-Mouthed Waterfowl
The musk duck of Australia is the only known duck or goose to mimic human speech... and one particular example (known as "Ripper") displays his talent by shouting "You bloody fool!"Musk ducks are unusual in that they reproduce in small numbers (rather than the stereotypical train of ducklings following an adult), so ducklings have much more time to interact and bond with a parent. Researchers think that ducks raised by humans (like the above-mentioned Ripper) may attempt to bond with a keeper instead, imitating the noises they make!
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