Greeting: One member of a pod will emit a unique high-pitched 'getting' while hundreds of feet away from another group - in an activity likened to people introducing themselvesDolphins use signature whistles, or name calls, to introduce themselves, research shows. One member of a pod will emit its unique high-pitched ‘greeting’ while hundreds of feet away from another group.
The activity is likened to people introducing themselves by name – further proof of the marine mammals’ intelligence.
Researcher Vincent Janik said the second group of dolphins will respond to this greeting, and the pods merge before swimming off together.
Intelligence: The second group of dolphins will respond - and the pods will merge before swimming off together
Captive dolphins have long been known to produce signature whistles but little was known about their use in the wild, so Dr Janik decided to track dolphins swimming off the coast of St Andrews. Typically, as one group of dolphins approached another, one animal would let out a burst of whistles.
This would bring a response from the second group and the two would merge, before swimming off together.
Dr Janik believes the whistles were used as a greeting, rather than as a warning, as dolphins are not territorial and any merging of pods was friendly, rather than aggressive.
Also, when no whistling occurred, the two pods would simply swim past, without any attempt to join together. Normally, just one creature made the introductions.
Dr Janik, of St Andrews University’s sea mammal research unit, says it is possible this animal was some sort of leader.
Or, more likely, the other animals were able to glean extra information about the identity of the approaching pod by using their inbuilt sonar.
With visibility at less than three feet in the North Sea, simple visual identification is not an option at a distance.
source: dailymail
Posts
