Cardigan Bay dolphins learning to speak ‘Welsh’
Strange, but true. According to Ronan Hickey, a former student at the University of Wales, dolphins living in Cardigan Bay are communicating with each other in a “Welsh” dialect.
Scientists comparing resident dolphins there found the friendly mammals had developed a unique series of whistles, different to those found in other parts of the Irish Sea.
Working with the Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation (SDWF), Hickey studied a group of up to 120 bottlenose dolphins using vocalisations collected on a computer.
Mr Hickey digitised and analysed 1,882 whistles from the Irish and Welsh dolphins.
By computer, he separated them into six fundamental whistle types and 32 categories.
Of the categories, he found most were used by both sets of dolphins – but eight were only heard from the Irish dolphins, and one was exclusive to those from Cardigan Bay.
Original source: icWales
Technorati Tags: Wales, dolphins, Cardigan Bay, Welsh, mammals, Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation, Welsh dolphins
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May 21st, 2007 at 7:28 am
Wow, is that really true?
May 21st, 2007 at 7:33 am
Of course! You’ll only find the truth at cymru66.com….