Imitation of Novel Intransitive Body Actions in a Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas): A "Do as Other Does" Study

• Published in: Animals
• Main Author: Zamorano Abramson, José
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2023
• Subjects: Beluga; Beluga whale; Beluga*; Delphinapterus leucas
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13243763

Cetaceans, including beluga whales, are known for their unique habits and behaviors that they display within their social groups, such as group-specific tactics or vocalizations. One of the questions that has attracted the attention of researchers is whether these behaviors are learned socially, i.e., from other members of their group. In this study, we investigate the ability of a young beluga to learn and reproduce new behaviors by observing another beluga perform them. The beluga was trained to respond to the command “Do this” so that it would imitate what it had observed in another beluga whale. The results show how it was able to copy both familiar behaviors (known and previously performed) and novel behaviors (actions it had never seen or performed before) in response to the “copy” signal. This study is the first evidence of this “true imitation” (copying novel actions) ability in this species and shows that these animals can acquire new skills through this process. This ability, which is quite rare in the animal kingdom, helps us to understand how these marine mammals survive and thrive in their natural habitats and how they pass on vital information about where to live, migrate, and find food.