Dolphins Call Each Other by “Name”!!
“Cool” is finding out that dolphins are among the handful of species on Earth that can recognize themselves in the mirror. “Cooler” is finding out that dolphins “name” themselves from a young age with a signature whistle used to signal their identity to other dolphins.
“Ice Cold” is the new discovery that dolphins call out other dolphins’ signatures when they are separated. It’s like calling out for a friend in a crowded room! They even put their own slight tweak on the call, the effect of their unique anatomy (sort of like their voice, if dolphins had “voices”).
I would probably hesitate at calling this something like true “language”, because when we do that we’re prone to attach a lot of human characteristics to it. But it’s definitely an amazing case of animal intelligence and perhaps even culture. This isn’t the only whale that passes on its calls to others. Humpback whaleshave been shown to trade and teach mating calls across entire oceans, like the cetacean version of foreign language classes!
Dolphins amaze me at every turn. But lest you think they’re 100% awesome all the time, let Deep Sea News remind you of several reasons that dolphins are complete a$$holes.