Terrifying Orca Recording Imitating Human Speech Stuns and Freaks People Out

Orcas may join the ranks of parrots and other animals known for their ability to imitate human speech. A recent study focused on a captive orca capable of mimicking human sounds and words. While some listeners may find the resulting voice unsettling, certain phrases are clearly recognizable. Furthermore, researchers propose that this mimicry could shed light on the distinct dialects observed among killer whale pods. A pertinent question arises: Does the orca comprehend the words she articulates?

Introducing Wikie
Wikie, the orca residing at Marineland Aquarium in France
Photos by Marineland Antibes (provided by Sara Farrell)
The research centers on a killer whale named Wikie, who resides at Marineland Aquarium in Antibes, France. She can produce sounds such as “hello,” “Amy,” and even blowing raspberries. Notably, Wikie demonstrates the ability to mimic her trainer’s words with minimal practice, often succeeding on her initial attempt.

The Art of Imitation
Wikie is adept at reproducing human words and sounds
Photos by Inherently Wild (provided by Marion)
Mimicry is a recognized trait within this species. Orcas are known to replicate the movements of their relatives, and there are accounts of them imitating the calls of sea lions and bottlenose dolphins.

“We aimed to investigate the flexibility of a killer whale in replicating sounds,” stated Josep Call, a professor at the University of St. Andrews and a co-author of the study, in an interview with the Guardian. “We believed it would be particularly compelling to present them with something outside their usual repertoire — in this instance, ‘hello’ is not a sound typically produced by a killer whale.”
Trained for Imitation
Wikie with her then-newborn calf, Moana
Photos by Marineland Antibes
The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, with contributions from authors based in the UK, Chile, Spain, and Germany. The research focused on 14-year-old Wikie, who had previously been trained to mimic the movements of another killer whale upon her trainer’s command. The researchers employed the same gesture to instruct her to replicate three sounds made by her three-year-old calf, Moana.
Teaching Wikie New Sounds
Wikie, during a performance, awaits her trainer’s guidance.
(Photos by Inherently Wild, provided by Robin Alex Schäfer)
The researchers introduced Wikie to five distinct orca sounds that she had not encountered before, including noises reminiscent of a creaky door and the act of “blowing a raspberry.” Additionally, she was exposed to a human imitating orca sounds, as well as simple words such as “hello,” “bye bye,” “one, two,” and “Amy.” These particular sounds were selected with care.
“You cannot choose a word that is overly complex, as that would be asking too much,” stated Call. “We aimed for sounds that were brief yet distinctive.”

Mimicking Orca and Human Sounds
As an orca, Wikie does not possess the biological structures that humans use for speech.
(Photo by Inherently Wild, provided by Mélanie Fauchier)
Wikie’s responses were evaluated by her two trainers. Subsequently, six researchers verified the recordings without prior knowledge of their content and matched them to the original word or sound. The authors observed that Wikie demonstrated a rapid ability to replicate sounds from both orcas and humans throughout 17 trials.
“This is particularly impressive. Despite the significant morphological differences between orcas and humans, they can still produce sounds that closely resemble those of another species,” remarked Call. Recordings of Wikie’s vocal mimicry have been shared on YouTube.

A Display of Orca Vocal Imitation
Wild orca pods in the expansive blue ocean.
(Source: Shutterstock)
Remarkably, Wikie successfully imitated the human producing orca sounds on her first attempt. She also accurately replicated two human phrases on her initial try, with all her vocalizations occurring while her head was above the water.
Call stated that this may represent the initial evidence suggesting that killer whales are capable of learning sounds through vocal imitation, which could potentially explain the dialects observed in their natural habitats; this notion is indeed plausible. Nevertheless, additional research on wild orcas is necessary to validate this hypothesis.

It is important to clarify that mimicry should not be equated with actual speech. Call rejected the notion that Wikie is “speaking English,” emphasizing that there is no evidence to support that these animals comprehend the meaning of their vocalizations, such as “hello.”

Dr. Irene Pepperberg, a specialist in parrot cognition at Harvard University, described the research as “exciting,” but she highlighted a significant limitation. She noted, “A more rigorous test would involve determining whether humans could accurately classify the various sounds produced without the presence of the models for comparison.”

Wikie is not the first animal known to imitate human speech. While parrots are often the first to come to mind, other species such as elephants, dolphins, beluga whales, and orangutans have also been documented producing human-like sounds, as reported by National Geographic. What is particularly intriguing is the diverse methods these animals employ to achieve this. For instance, Noc, the beluga whale, utilized his nasal cavities to create sounds, while Koshik the elephant used his trunk to articulate “hello,” “no,” and “sit down” in Korean. It is remarkable to observe the extent of imitation capabilities in these animals, despite lacking the anatomical features that facilitate human speech.