Language in Nature Mon, Aug 20, 2018

Language is not unique in nature, every animal has some kind of language. Even insects such as bees and ants know how to communicate, informing one another where there is food. Zoologist have discovered that green monkeys use various calls each with different meanings and identified that one call means “Careful! An eagle” while a slightly different call means “Careful! A Lion!”. When the researchers played a recording of the eagle warning call the monkeys stopped what they were doing and looked to the sky searching for the eagle. When the same group heard the lion warning call, they scrambled up a tree. Sperm Whales have the ability to produce more distinct sounds than green monkeys which has led to a diverse communication system. This system has even influenced the way clans are formed. Scientist have found that different sperm whale clans have their own distinct dialects, essentially whales that speak the same language stick together. There are even studies of ‘lost’ whales having to learn a new dialect to join the clan.