The most famous imitators of the human voice are undoubtedly parrots, but in nature there are still many other animals that can learn new sounds. One of them turned out to be seals - scientists from the University of St. Andrews proved this by teaching them to perform the main theme from "Star Wars" and the English lullaby "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". At first, this idea may seem like pointless fun, but in fact, research can uncover the causes of speech impairment in humans.
Three seals participated in a long-term study: Ash, Janice and Gandalf. They were under the supervision of researchers from an early age - scientists recorded the natural sounds they made, and during the research they created a kind of "catalog of the seal repertoire." The data collected quickly made it clear that these animals make sounds using the same structures in the larynx as humans.
The seal sings a melody from "Star Wars"
Having found this out, the researchers began to teach seals to make new sounds - the animals demonstrated an amazing skill to imitate the human voice by changing the frequency of the voice tone. Among the three seals, Zola stood out as he was able to repeat 10 popular songs, including the aforementioned Star Wars theme and the familiar lullaby.
The researchers believe that by following the development of the vocal abilities of seals from childhood, they will be able to compare this knowledge with the development of the voice in humans. By examining two sets of data, they hope to identify the causes of speech disorders in humans and develop treatments for them. In their opinion, both genetic factors and learning itself play an important role in speech disorders.
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Talking elephant
In addition to seals, elephants can also imitate the human voice. The most famous of them is Koshik from the Yongin Zoo in Korea. According to the veterinarian Oh Suk-Hoon, he learned to repeat the words of the zoo attendants from loneliness when he was separated from his relatives. Thus, his vocabulary includes five words: "hello", "sit down", "lie down", "no" and "good."
Ramis Ganiev