News in Brief Animals

A killer whale gives a raspberry and says ‘hello’

Mimicry of human sounds supports the idea that imitation matters in the cetaceans’ own dialects

two killer whales

SAY WHAT?  Killer whales can (sort of) imitate human words and other very unwhalelike sounds, says a tough test of mimicry.

Maarten Visser/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

Ready for sketch comedy she’s not. But a 14-year-old killer whale named Wikie has shown promise in mimicking strange sounds, such as a human “hello” — plus some rude noises.