A group of scientists had a “conversation” with a humpback whale in Alaska — and they hope principles learned from it will someday help communicate with aliens.
The team was assembled by the SETI Institute, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to search for extraterrestrial intelligence across the universe. While the organization normally looks to the skies, they turned their attention to the seas last winter.
“Whales are a proxy for aliens,” animal behaviorist Dr. Josie Hubbard tells the Post. “They’re intelligent creatures with a language that is foreign to us. The things we learn from communicating with whales could help us when it comes time to connect with aliens.”
“Their language is complex,” adds Lisa Walker, a whale song theorist who was part of the mission. “They make whoops and thrups and groans and squeaks. Their vocalizations are fascinating. We are trying to figure out what the vocalizations mean.”
While the scientists believe some of the whale noises are merely social sounds, they hypothesize that other vocalizations have specific communication values. “They could be making commands,” says Hubbard. “Go up, down, go here and there.”
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