Academic Review 2024

13 ACADEMIC REVIEW 2024

Communication, language, and learning All organisms that thrive best in groups or pods, like these cetaceans, do so by their intensely elevated levels of communication. This allows for complex hunting strategies and problem solving in their environments. This adds to the phenomenon of swarm intelligence, where the combined efforts of multiple organisms increases levels of success and therefore survival. This is where communication, language and learning apply to intelligence. It is worth bearing in mind that the greater number of research studies of the intellectual behaviour of cetaceans focus on T. truncatus rather than O. orca. This is due to the much higher population of common bottlenose dolphins, 600,000 compared to killer whales at around 50,000 (SeaWorld, 2022). The literature on T. truncatus will therefore provide additional evidence for cognitive behaviours and adaptations (Marino, 2004). HOW DO THESE CETACEANS COMMUNICATE? Cetaceans are known to communicate via body language as well as sounds, mostly in the form of whistles, clicks which are mostly used in echolocation while hunting, and also ‘burst pulses’ (Vallarta Adventure, 2021). These cetaceans have been known to adopt signature whistles shortly after birth (DolphinPlus, 2018). Each individual has a different whistle and these whistles allow the rest of the pod to locate them. If dolphins become disconnected from the pod, repetition of their individual whistles allows them to be reunited (Dolphin Research Center, 2022). Their signature whistles change with age. This can be seen when males alter their whistle when mating or ‘forming an alliance with another dolphin’ (DolphinPlus, 2018). An alternative theory to why dolphins copy and learn each other’s signature whistles, is that they are using it as a name (DolphinPlus, 2018). This allows for recognition as they use these signature whistles to introduce themselves, rather like human names. They are fundamentally talking to each other as a way of socialising in their pods. Scientists can record individual whistles and play them to other cetaceans using technology called Cetacean Hearing and Telemetry (Vallarta Adventure, 2021). Killer whales also have ‘dialects’ of their signature whistles which differ between pod families, this allows them to communicate miles apart (Frerck, 2022).

LEARNING Both these cetaceans show a strong ability to learn in captivity. Learning different tricks leads to rewards. They are also being studied learning different English words and mimicking them so there could potentially be conversations between orcas and humans in the future (Frerck, 2022). This form of vocal mimicry has been heard being practised by an orca called Wikie at the Marineland Aquarium in France. Research reveals that Wikie, and potentially other orcas, are able to imitate human speech, in some cases at the first attempt, saying words such as “one, two, three” “hello” and “bye, bye” (Frerck, 2022). They also mimic sounds similar to blowing a raspberry, all created via the blowhole. Dr Jose Ambramson has faith that there might be conversations between Wikie and humans in the future. However, he also says that there should be much more of a focus on their native talents and expertise rather than trying to humanise such species (Frerck, 2022). Orcas have been known to mimic the language of other species, such as the common bottlenose dolphin. This skill is taught to their infants at an early age. This was shown by a study at the SeaWorld Research Institute and the University of San Diego (Andrei, 2014). The mimicry could potentially be used to trick dolphins, in one way or another, providing an easier meal for the orcas. Their ability to learn other species’ vocalisations and languages shows their advanced levels of learning. Dr Diana Reiss (2012) presented a fascinating TEDx Talk. She described her encounters and experiences with common bottlenose dolphins both in the wild and in captivity. She filmed a dolphin creating her own toys for fun. The dolphin formed a glistening air ring, which she swam through near the surface. This is confirmation that a dolphin can innovate and has the understanding to make complex preparations. The dolphin would have to be deep enough to blow the ring upwards at the correct angle to make sure it did not break. A similar trick was self-taught by a dolphin called Ballie, who was only two years old. She blew a large amount of air out of her blowhole into the surrounding water of her pool, then slapped this air with her tail to form air rings which she would follow around her pool and continued this activity for hours on end (Reiss, 2012). These examples of T. truncatus, self-teaching skills for fun prove their learning capabilities. These skills have very little use in the wild, yet still provide evidence of learning and therefore reflect their intelligence.