Scientists release recording of 'talking whale'

A whale Beluga whale living in a conservation centre in San Diego learned to mimic the human voice to the extent that it fooled an underwater diver, according to researchers.

Handlers at the National Marine Mammal Foundation (NMMF) in California heard mumbling back in 1984 coming from a tank containing whales and dolphins that sounded like people chatting.

It was not until a diver surfaced from the tank and asked "Who told me to get out?" did researchers realise the mumbling sounds came from a captive male Beluga whale called NOC.

The scientists recorded the sounds for several years while it was underwater and when it surfaced.

The outbursts lasted about four years, until NOC hit sexual maturity, according to Dr Sam Ridgeway, president of NMMF.

He believes that NOC learned to imitate humans by listening to them speak underwater and on the surface.

Dr Ridgeway said he hoped the discovery would lead to further discoveries about how mammals learn and how their "mind" interacts with other animals in the sea.

The study is not the first time a whale has sounded human. Scientists who have studied sounds of white whales in the wild sometimes heard what sounded like shouting children.

Caretakers at the Vancouver Aquarium in Canada previously said they heard one of the white whales say its name.