Dolphins in New Zealand whistle in dialect

Researchers in New Zealand have found that dolphins on one side of the country sound very different from dolphins on the other side of the country. For example, bottlenose dolphins from the south lengthen their whistles and use different pitches than their northern friends.

noise

The researchers hypothesize that this may be because southerners make more noise from boats and make more effort to make themselves understood. Can northerners still understand them?

did you know…

…dolphins all have their own whistles by which they can identify each other.

…Dolphins do not whistle with their mouths, but do so by blowing air from a blowpipe on their head.

Dolphins can make high-pitched sounds that we humans cannot hear.

Dolphins whistle not just for a nice chat, but to see where the food is. To do this, they emit very high-pitched sounds, and the returning echo allows them to determine how far away something is.

…sound can travel much faster and further underwater than above water. Dolphins make good use of this.