Whale Experts and Alien Hunters Team Up to Communicate with Whales
In a groundbreaking collaboration, scientists from the University of California, Davis, the Alaska Whale Foundation, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) have joined forces to communicate with whales. Their efforts resulted in a 20-minute conversation with a humpback whale named Twain, a significant milestone in interspecies communication.
The team sailed off the coast of Alaska and played a “contact call” into the ocean, a signal similar to a human greeting used by whales to communicate with each other. Surprisingly, Twain responded to the call, circling the boat and engaging in intentional exchanges with the scientists.
According to lead author Brenda McCowan, a professor at UC Davis’s School of Veterinary Medicine, Twain’s behavior could have implications for how intelligent alien races may seek communication with humanity. “An important assumption of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is that extraterrestrials will be interested in making contact and so target human receivers,” said Laurance Doyle, a principal investigator at the SETI Institute and coauthor on the paper.
The researchers are now working on creating intelligent filters to aid in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, drawing on their experience with animal communication. By studying the behavior of intelligent animals on Earth, such as whales, dolphins, and other highly social species, they hope to better understand what alien intelligence might be like and how to identify intelligent signals from space.
The scientists also believe that their work with whales could shed light on whether intelligent alien life would seek out humanity for contact. “Whale research has indicated if you’re intelligent, curiosity comes along with that, and you want to make contact,” said Doyle.
The success of the interspecies communication experiment has opened the door for future research with other intelligent animals on Earth, potentially leading to new insights into the nature of intelligence and communication across species.
The article was originally published by Business Insider.