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You've probably heard the hissing and wheezing that dolphins make a few times, whether it's because we were lucky enough to see them in person or in a documentary. It's not just sounds, it's a very complex communication system.
The ability to speak exists only in animals whose brains weigh more than 700 grams. In the case of dolphins, this organ can weigh up to two kilos and, in addition, they were found to have silent regions in the cerebral cortex, of which there was only evidence that existed in humans. All of this indicates that the whistles and sounds that dolphins make are more than just meaningless noises.
In 1950 John C. Lilly began to study dolphin communication in a more serious way than was done before and discovered that these animals communicate in two ways: through echolocation and through a verbal system. If you want to discover the secrets about dolphin communication Continue reading this PeritoAnimal article.
The echolocation of dolphins
As we mentioned, dolphin communication is divided into two different systems, and one of them is echolocation. Dolphins emit a kind of whistle that works in a similar way to the sonar on a boat. Thanks to this, can know how far away they are from objects, in addition to their size, shape, texture and density.
The ultrasonic whistles they emit, which are inaudible to humans, collide with objects around them and return a noticeable echo to dolphins even in really noisy surroundings. Thanks to this they can guide themselves by the sea and avoid being a predator's meal.
the language of dolphins
Furthermore, it has been discovered that dolphins have the ability to communicate orally with a sophisticated verbal system. This is the way these animals talk to each other, whether in the water or out of it.
Some studies argue that dolphins' communication goes further and that they have specific sounds to warn of danger or that there is food, and that sometimes they are really complex. Furthermore, it is known that when they meet, they greet each other with a certain vocabulary, as if using proper names.
There are some investigations that claim that each group of dolphins has its own vocabulary. This was discovered thanks to studies in which different groups of the same species were brought together but they did not mix with each other. Scientists believe it is because of their inability to understand each other, since each group develops its own language incomprehensible to others, as happens to humans from different countries.
These discoveries, along with other dolphin curiosities, demonstrate that these cetaceans have an intelligence far superior to most animals.
