
Photo: Amanda Cotton/Project CETI
Recently, researchers have used machine learning to decode a “sperm whale phonetic alphabet,” revealing sophisticated structures in sperm whale communication akin to human phonetics and communication systems in other animal species.
For centuries, sailors have heard the sounds made by whales, reverberating through the hulls of wooden ships. Arctic whalers dubbed beluga whales the “canaries of the seas” for their clicks, chirps, and whistles. Nevertheless, it was long thought that whale noises were nothing more than expressive sounds or calls.
Then, over the last half-century, scientists began to study the haunting whale song of humpbacks, as well as the varied vocalizations of other whale species.