8legs: Proceedings of the royal society b

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Chilling moment orca whale imitates human speech

A 2018 study shows Wikie the orca imitated human speech sounds when tested by researchers.
Researchers trained Wikie by first mimicking sounds from her calf before introducing unfamiliar human words.
The orca successfully replicated words like hello, Amy, ah ha, one two and bye bye.
Scientists caution that mimicking sounds does not prove the orca understands word meanings.
The study involved researchers from Germany, Spain, the UK and Chile and was reported in a scientific journal.
The finding emphasizes the orca’s vocal flexibility rather than linguistic comprehension.
The study was conducted with a 14-year-old orca named Wikie as the test subject.
The orca’s word attempts included short and distinctive words such as hello and bye bye.
There is ongoing debate among viewers about how close the copies are to human speech.
Researchers published the findings in a peer‑reviewed journal, adding credibility to the claim.
The article notes there is no evidence the orca understands the words' meanings.

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