After the “orca uprising” captivated anti-capitalists all over the world in 2023, scientists are intrigued by one other type of marine mammal communication.
A research launched this month by the SETI Institute and the College of California at Davis dives right into a newly documented phenomenon of humpback whales blowing bubble rings whereas interacting with people. In distinction to the orcas’ aggressive conduct, researchers say the humpbacks look like pleasant, relaxed, and even curious.
Bubbles aren’t new to those aquatic giants, which usually launch varied shapes when corraling prey and courting mates. This research follows 12 distinct incidents involving 11 whales producing 39 rings, most of which have approached boats close to Hawaii, the Dominican Republic, Mo’orea, and the U.S. Atlantic coast on their very own.
The influence of this analysis reaches far past the oceans, although. Deciphering these non-verbal messages might assist in potential extraterrestrial communication, as they may also help to “develop filters that aid in parsing cosmic signals for signs of extraterrestrial life,” a press release says.
“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,” stated Dr. Laurance Doyle, a SETI Institute scientist who co-wrote the paper. “This important assumption is certainly supported by the independent evolution of curious behavior in humpback whales.” (through PetaPixel)
