Researchers are gaining new insights into whale communication, with recent work highlighting similarities to human speech and the importance of sound in their social lives. Whale communication involves diverse vocal repertoires, with individual species having dozens of distinctive dialects.
Valeria Vergara, director of the cetacean research programme at Raincoast Conservation Foundation, found that baby belugas learn to communicate from adults, playing with sound and babbling like human toddlers. They develop an "acoustic name tag" for self-identification, but the underwater range of these calls is significantly smaller for calves compared to adults, making them susceptible to being masked by boat noise.
This research contributed to Canadian authorities closing key beluga meeting grounds to boats in 2018, allowing the calls of young calves to be heard. Elsewhere, researchers are using drone footage alongside acoustic recordings to link specific orca calls to their behaviours, aiming for more targeted conservation measures.
The concept of culture in whales, once controversial, is now accepted, with many species sharing cultural traditions. Male humpback whales compose unique songs that evolve and spread between neighbouring populations, with all males in a population learning new themes.