Whales blow bubble rings—and scientists say they might be trying to talk to us
Humpback whales have been seen blowing delicate bubble rings during peaceful encounters with humans, in what scientists believe could be a remarkable display of non-verbal communication—offering fresh clues about the nature of intelligence beyond our species.
Key Information:
- New behaviour observed: Whales were seen creating bubble rings during friendly interactions with humans, a phenomenon never previously documented.
- Study by: SETI Institute and University of California, Davis (UC Davis), published in Marine Mammal Science.
- WhaleSETI project: Uses whale communication to model frameworks for detecting extraterrestrial intelligence.
- Behaviour recorded: 12 episodes, 39 rings, involving 11 individual humpback whales.
A team of scientists from the SETI Institute and UC Davis has documented humpback whales blowing bubble rings during peaceful encounters with humans — a striking behaviour never before recorded in scientific literature. The unexpected display may be more than playful curiosity; researchers believe it could represent a sophisticated form of non-verbal communication.
The findings, published in Marine Mammal Science under the title "Humpback Whales Blow Poloidal Vortex Bubble Rings", are part of the WhaleSETI project, which aims to understand non-human intelligence as a model for detecting alien life. The team recorded 12 bubble ring episodes involving 11 individual whales, which together produced 39 rings.
"Because of current limitations on technology, an important assumption of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is that extraterrestrial intelligence and life will be interested in making contact and so target human receivers," said Dr Laurance Doyle, SETI Institute scientist and co-author of the paper. "This important assumption is certainly supported by the independent evolution of curious behaviour in humpback whales."
"Humpback whales live in complex societies, are acoustically diverse, use bubble tools and assist other species being harassed by predators," said co-lead author Dr Fred Sharpe, UC Davis Affiliate. "Now, akin to a candidate signal, we show they are blowing bubble rings in our direction in an apparent attempt to playfully interact, observe our response, and/or engage in some form of communication."
Jodi Frediani, marine wildlife photographer and UC Davis Affiliate, added: "Humpback whales often exhibit inquisitive, friendly behaviour towards boats and human swimmers. We've now located a dozen whales from populations around the world, the majority of which have voluntarily approached boats and swimmers blowing bubble rings during these episodes of curious behaviour."
The WhaleSETI team notes that, like Antarctic research acting as a terrestrial proxy for Mars, studying intelligent marine mammals may help scientists develop tools to parse signals from space. As Karen Pryor once observed, "patterns of bubble production in cetaceans constitute a mode of communication not available to terrestrial mammals."
The researchers say the findings reinforce the idea that the evolution of curiosity and communication is not unique to humans, and that meaningful patterns of interaction can emerge in surprising ways, even in underwater environments.
Source: ScienceDaily
