White whales imitate human voice

The observation was made more than 30 years ago, but it still attracted considerable attention when it was published proberly recently in a recognized scientific magazine: White whales, also called Belugas, are able to imitate the human voice with surprising accuracy. This is at least what a young White whale did in an American zoo: accurately enough to confuse nearby people until the whale was identified as the source of the “voice”.

Due to its different physiology, a Beluga is believed to go through a considerabe process of learning and practice before it can produce something similar to a human voice.

Similar observations have been made elsewhere, but in this case even sound recordings were secured.

Source: Current Biology