![]() ![]() There's no shortage of research on the way that dolphins interact. But we knew that they have the cognitive flexibility as a species, so we thought we would create a tool to see what they would do with it." "Whether they do this in their 'natural' communication system we don't know. ![]() "We know that dolphins in captivity are fast spontaneous and excellent acoustic mimics, and that they can associate sounds with objects," Herzing says. The word? "Sargassum," a type of seaweed often used as a toy during divers' interactions with the dolphins. ![]() Last August, the team had a breakthrough. Researchers, during a test run of a wearable translation device, captured a unique whistle that they had taught the dolphins, and the device instantly translated it into English. The latest goal in that research has been to try to use the dolphins' own signals to communicate with the animals. Since 1985, Herzing, with the Wild Dolphin Project, has used underwater video and sound equipment to study the natural communication system of an especially friendly pod of dolphins that lives along a stretch of the Bahamas near the southern tip of Florida, amassing a database that profiles their relationships, sounds and behavior, and how these things have changed over time. It isn't too much of a stretch to think that dolphins, given their playful nature and charm, converse with each other much like we do. But is this really the case? And if so, to what extent do their seemingly random calls indicate a natural penchant for language?ĭolphin researcher Denise Herzing has spent nearly three decades listening in on such noises in hopes of deciphering what she suspects is actual dolphin chatter. But it wasn't until she tried to teach the dolphins calls for specific English words-and they responded-that she realized she may have hit on something big. ![]()
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