Not sure I’ll ever look at whales the same way again...
Animals are capable of some truly fascinating things, but this might be one of the creepiest discoveries yet—people are unsettled after hearing a beluga whale attempt to mimic human speech.
While most of us accept that we can't communicate with animals the same way we do with other humans, there are a few exceptions.
Some species, like parrots, have the ability to imitate human speech remarkably well, sometimes even learning phrases and full sentences.
Now, imagine the shock of hearing a beluga whale underwater making sounds that bear an unsettling resemblance to human speech.
A video from 2012 has resurfaced on social media, and instead of being amused, most people are downright horrified by what they hear.
Although the news anchors in the clip described the beluga as cute and friendly, the general reaction online has been anything but reassuring.
See the eerie footage for yourself:
One YouTube user reacted to the bizarre video, writing: "pulls up the bloody terrifying beluga whale picture basically saying 'I will consume your soul'."
Meanwhile, another commenter pointed out: "The female reporter: 'He looks kinda friendly'."
Another viewer admitted: "The thumbnail literally made my SOUL jump out of its body for a second."
Someone else couldn't help but laugh at the contrast between the reporter's reaction and the unsettling image, saying: "I laughed so hard when she said 'he looks kinda friendly' right as that terrifying picture came up."
One person attempted to explain why this happens, noting: "It makes sense if you think about how the beluga is only mimicking what he can hear."
Yeah... I don't want to hear this thing speak like a person ABC News
"The only times human speech would be audible to him is likely when someone is in his enclosure, underwater and with scuba equipment in their mouths. If you've ever gone swimming and tried to talk, it sounds exactly like that."
If you thought this was just an isolated case, you’d be mistaken...
Earlier this year, an audio recording from 2018 resurfaced, revealing an orca imitating human speech in a similarly eerie way.
The recording was part of a scientific study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences.
Researchers from Germany, Spain, the UK, and Chile worked together to document their findings, confirming that orcas have the ability to mimic human language.
Discussing the significance of this discovery, Josep Call, a professor in the evolutionary origins of the mind at the University of St Andrews and co-author of the study, spoke to CBSN.
Wikie the whale succeeded in mimicking a number of human sounds Abramson et. al/CBS News
He explained: "It tells us that they are flexible vocal learners and their flexibility is not only in their vocal domain but also in their motor domain."
Adding to this, he noted: "They can also copy body movements, we knew this from before, but now we know that they can also copy sounds and sounds that are not in their natural repertoire."
