Animals can do some incredible things, but this discovery might be one of the creepiest yet — people are confused after hearing a beluga whale try to mimic human speech.

Beluga human speech

We often think we can’t communicate with animals the way we do with humans, but some species can mimic human sounds in ways that will leave you speechless. Parrots are a perfect example, often picking up phrases and full sentences with surprising clarity.

But imagine the shock of hearing a beluga whale underwater, making noises that sound uncannily like human speech. While dolphins have been trained to mimic human-like sounds, no animal had ever done this spontaneously—until NOC, a nine-year-old whale, came along. He made strange noises at unusually low octaves, in quick, clipped bursts.

It all began when a diver at the National Marine Mammal Foundation in California surfaced, puzzled, asking, “Who told me to get out?”

The researchers looked at each other in disbelief—something extraordinary had just happened.

Whales, known as the “canaries of the sea” for their high-pitched chirps, have been the subject of rumors about mimicking human speech for years. But until now, no one had captured it on tape.

Once NOC was identified as the source of the eerie sounds, the researchers immediately recorded the moment, confirming the unbelievable discovery.

Fast forward to today, and a 2012 video of NOC has resurfaced online. Rather than laughing, people are disturbed by the whale’s bizarre attempts to speak, with many now questioning what else these ocean giants are capable of.

In the video, the ABC news anchors describe the beluga as cute and friendly, but viewers online have a very different reaction.

One YouTube user joked, “pulls up the bloody terrifying beluga whale picture basically saying ‘I will consume your soul.’”

Another pointed out the contrast between the reporter’s cheerful comment— ”He looks kinda friendly”—and the unsettling image. ”The thumbnail literally made my SOUL jump out of its body for a second,” said a viewer. Some laughed at the awkward moment, saying, ”I laughed so hard when she said ‘he looks kinda friendly’ right as that terrifying picture came up.”

One person even tried to explain the behavior: ”It makes sense if you think about how the beluga is only mimicking what he can hear.”

Orca whale imitate human speech

The whale likely only hears human speech when someone is nearby, underwater, with scuba gear in their mouths, which distorts their words. ”If you’ve ever gone swimming and tried to talk, it sounds exactly like that,” the explanation continued.

But it’s not just belugas doing this. Earlier this year, an orca recording from 2018 surfaced, showing the same eerie imitation of human speech. This was part of a scientific study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, where researchers from Germany, Spain, the UK, and Chile confirmed orcas’ ability to mimic human sounds.

Josep Call, a professor at the University of St Andrews and co-author of the study, explained, “It tells us that they are flexible vocal learners and their flexibility is not only in their vocal domain but also in their motor domain.”

He added, “They can also copy body movements, we knew this from before, but now we know that they can also copy sounds and sounds that are not in their natural repertoire.”

If you need more reasons to appreciate whales and the animal kingdom, you’ve definitely found one now—what incredible creatures swim out there in the ocean. I

t makes it even more important to fight for them and their way of life. Feel free to share this article if you agree!