Research shows that whales and dolphins use a husky, deep voice like Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton and Julia Fox.
We associate a husky deep voice with something sexual, such speech techniques are used by Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton and Julia Fox, which attracts people’s attention. However, a new study shows that celebrities have something in common with the inhabitants of the ocean, writes the Daily Mail.
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A new study from Danish scientists suggests that marine mammals such as sperm whales, killer whales, dolphins and porpoises use an air-driven nasal sound that can travel quickly and far in murky and dark waters at a depth of about 2 kilometers. What’s more, the researchers found that these sounds bear a clear resemblance to the “sexy” speech technique used by Hollywood stars, which involves drawing out certain syllables.
Researchers find whales and dolphins use ‘voice fry’ to catch prey
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Photo: Christian Christensen/Aarhus University in Denmark
During the study, scientists recorded the sounds made by both trained dolphins and those that live in the wild. Further, scientists studied the records and came to the conclusion that these animals, like humans, have at least three registers:
vocal (squeaky voice), which produces the lowest tones; chest, similar to a normal conversational voice; falsetto, giving even higher frequencies.
According to the author of the study, Professor Cohen Elemans, the vocal register is often used in American English. As a rule, such famous people as Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry and Scarlett Johannse use it. And now researchers suggest that not only people use this manner of speech, but also some whales and dolphins.
Researchers have found that whales and dolphins use this technique to emit their echolocation calls at depth when they are hunting. The bottom line is that when using this technique, the vocal cords remain open for only a short period of time, which means that animals use very little air for breathing in the process.
Like humans, whales and dolphins have at least three vocal registers.
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Фото: Mikkel Larris/University of Southern Denmark
According to professor and Aarhus University in Denmark Peter Madsen, this air saving is ideal for echolocation, and is especially suitable for deep diving. When whales hunt in dark, murky waters, they emit powerful, short, ultrasonic echolocation clicks at up to 700 per second to help them locate and track down prey.
It is curious that among people such a raspy, husky voice can be perceived differently: for some it seems sexy, for others it is annoying. However, for whales, things are very different – this vocal register, in fact, led toothed whales to the success of evolution.
In addition, during the study, scientists found out exactly how the whales make these hoarse sounds. During echolocation, animals compress air in their noses and force it through structures called sound lips, which vibrate in the same way as human vocal cords. However, with one difference – the air system of whales allows them to create much higher pressure, up to five times more than, for example, a trumpeter can create.
Previously, Focus wrote that scientists told where, how and how long whales sleep in the ocean.
