A study published in the St. Petersburg Polytechnical University journal outlines how researchers believe dolphins talk to each other in much the same way as humans do, even waiting until one dolphin has finished its lines before replying.
‘Pulses’ or sounds made by the dolphins were analyzed and found to differ from each other in many respects despite initial analysis that the sounds were the same. Pulses were grouped in ‘packs’ – natural pieces of conversation that are assembled in much the same way a human would speak. This led researchers to believe that dolphins listened to each ‘pack’ before replying and therefore that dolphins talk to each other.
“Humans must take the first step to establish relationships with the first intelligent inhabitants of the planet Earth by creating devices capable of overcoming the barriers that stand in the way of using languages and in the way of communications between dolphins and people,” the report said.
Read More: Do Trees Talk to Humans?
It would come as no surprise to anyone with an understanding of nature that animals communicate with each other just as well as humans do. It might not be language we understand but each plant, animal and being has the ability to communicate with anything that is capable of understanding it.
It has been know that even plants and trees, when cut, emit a chemical to alert other plants in the vicinity of impending danger.
It is not some random event that causes a shoal of fish to move in unison or a pack of birds to navigate to a location thousand of miles away. It would be really interesting to take this study and apply its methodology to other species in an attempt to gain some understanding of how decisions in packs are made and how animals communicate with each other over complex issues.
Do we really think that animals are unable to communicate with their young or their mating partner beyond “squawk once for food and twice for water?” Or that the barking of dogs is meaningless or the subtle purring of a cat cannot be understood? There is no rational reason why animals would be unable to communicate in terms of conversation – it may not be as sporadic as our conversation but it ranges far beyond the mere bellowing of a lion to indicate hunger.
Photo : S. Dukachev Wiki Commons
Throughout history, humans have had an uncanny ability to consider themselves superior – over plants, animals and even our fellow human beings. At this stage, you would think we have learned that we are no better or worse than another living thing that inhabits this earth, each trying to eek out a tiny corner in the universe in which to complete their own journey.
At some point, science will figure out that nearly everything else that moves in this planet has the ability to communicate – and to communicate in a far more complex manner that what we’ve thought possible.
The really big breakthough will occur when we figure out that our thoughts manifest externally but that’s another subject.