Whale watching tours find whales talking to people with strange bubble rings
A new study suggests that humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) might be trying to communicate with humans –- or aliens? –– through a behavior that’s both beautiful and baffling: perfectly circular bubble rings, deliberately blown near boats and swimmers. The finding comes from researchers at WhaleSETI, a project inspired by the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), only this time, the “aliens” are right here in our oceans.
The post Whale watching tours find whales talking to people with strange bubble rings appeared first on Green Prophet.
This bubble ring was captured on video in 1988 in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in Massachusetts. (© Dan Knaub, The Video Company)
Could bubble rings be the cetacean equivalent of a wave and a smile?
A new study suggests that humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) might be trying to communicate with humans –- or aliens? –– through a behavior that’s both beautiful and baffling: perfectly circular bubble rings, deliberately blown near boats and swimmers. The finding comes from researchers at WhaleSETI, a project inspired by the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), only this time, the “aliens” are right here in our oceans.
In 12 documented encounters across the globe, individual humpbacks were observed creating bubble rings only in the presence of humans—never when monitored by drones or distant cameras. These were not the messy bursts of bubble-net feeding, but rather tight, precise rings—deliberate and controlled.
“We’ve now located a dozen whales from populations around the world, the majority of which have voluntarily approached boats and swimmers blowing bubble rings,” said marine wildlife photographer and study co-author Jodi Frediani.
Composite image of at least one bubble ring from each episode. Photo attributions: (a) D. Knaub, (b) F. Nicklen, (c) D. Perrine, (d) W. Davis, (e) G. Flipse, (f) A. Henry, (g) M. Gaughan, (h) H. Romanchik, (i) D. Patton, (j) D. Perrine, (k) S. Istrup, (l) S. Hilbourne.
In other words: they saw us, they swam toward us, and they made bubbles—in what can only be described as a strangely charming act of interspecies improv.
The WhaleSETI project, headed by scientists with backgrounds in linguistics, animal behavior, and astrobiology, aims to study non-human intelligence with the same tools we use to prepare for contact with extraterrestrials. If we can’t talk to whales—who evolved on the same planet—how do we ever expect to chat with space-faring civilizations?
And what better place to start than with one of the most acoustically gifted and socially complex animals on Earth? Or consider, maybe aliens are speaking with whales and not us?
“Because of current limitations on technology, an important assumption of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is that extraterrest
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