Animals are capable of some truly remarkable things, but what scientists uncovered about one particular beluga whale might be the eeriest discovery yet. People around the world have been left both amazed and unsettled after hearing a beluga whale seemingly try to mimic human speech.
We’ve long believed that meaningful communication with animals is limited. After all, we don’t share the same language. While some animals can copy sounds—like parrots repeating phrases or full sentences with surprising accuracy—nothing quite compares to what one beluga whale managed to do. Hearing a whale mimic the rhythm and tone of human speech underwater is something that feels almost otherworldly.
That brings us to NOC, a nine-year-old male beluga whale who stunned the marine science community and the internet alike. Unlike dolphins, which can be trained to mimic certain sounds, NOC was never taught to imitate humans. Yet, on his own, he started producing strange, low-pitched sounds that resembled human speech patterns. His vocalizations were short, clipped, and oddly human-like.
The mystery began at the National Marine Mammal Foundation in California when a diver emerged from the water visibly confused. He asked his team, “Who told me to get out?” But no one had spoken to him. The researchers were baffled—until they realized what had just occurred. It wasn’t a person who had spoken. It was a whale.
Whales are often called the “canaries of the sea” because of their melodic, high-pitched chirps and songs. Over the years, there have been stories and speculation about whales mimicking human sounds, but there was never any solid proof—until now. When the team traced the voice-like sounds back to NOC, they immediately began recording and documenting everything. The sounds were captured on tape, and the scientific community had its first true evidence of a whale mimicking human speech, seemingly unprompted.
The footage of NOC’s eerie vocalizations was first recorded over a decade ago, but in 2012, it resurfaced online and went viral all over again. Rather than finding the video charming or humorous, many viewers were genuinely creeped out. The beluga’s efforts to sound like a person felt more unsettling than cute.
News anchors at ABC initially described the beluga as adorable and friendly, but online commenters weren’t buying it. One YouTube user summed up the collective discomfort, writing, “pulls up the bloody terrifying beluga whale picture basically saying ‘I will consume your soul.’” Another user found the disconnect between the anchor’s lighthearted comment—”He looks kinda friendly”—and the creepy thumbnail image jarring. “The thumbnail literally made my SOUL jump out of its body for a second,” they said. Others simply laughed at the moment, with one person noting, “I laughed so hard when she said ‘he looks kinda friendly’ right as that terrifying picture came up.”
While some were scared, others tried to make sense of it. One commenter offered a practical explanation, pointing out that the beluga likely only hears humans when they’re underwater, speaking through scuba gear. “If you’ve ever gone swimming and tried to talk, it sounds exactly like that,” they noted. This would mean that the beluga was mimicking distorted underwater speech, which made the imitation sound even more unnatural.
But NOC isn’t the only whale to show this kind of behavior. Earlier in 2023, a resurfaced recording from 2018 revealed a similar case involving an orca, or killer whale, imitating human speech. The recording had been part of a scientific study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences. Researchers from Germany, Spain, the UK, and Chile collaborated on the study, and they confirmed that orcas—just like NOC the beluga—are capable of vocal mimicry.
One of the study’s co-authors, Professor Josep Call from the University of St Andrews, emphasized how significant this finding is. “It tells us that they are flexible vocal learners,” he said. “Their flexibility is not only in their vocal domain but also in their motor domain.” In other words, orcas—and potentially other whale species—can mimic sounds and physical movements that aren’t part of their natural behavior. While we already knew that these creatures could copy body movements, we now have solid evidence that they can reproduce sounds outside their usual range, even those that resemble human speech.
These discoveries are a powerful reminder of how little we still understand about the intelligence and communication abilities of marine animals. Whales, often seen as majestic and mysterious, continue to surprise us. The idea that they may be trying to speak with us—or at least imitate our speech—makes them even more fascinating. It also raises questions about how much more they might be capable of.
And perhaps this is exactly the kind of moment that makes us stop and think about our responsibility to protect these extraordinary animals. If a whale can mimic human language, doesn’t that make it even more important to ensure we preserve their habitats and respect their lives? These aren’t just giant fish in the ocean—they are highly intelligent beings with a capacity for communication that we’re only just beginning to understand.
So the next time you think about the wonders of the animal kingdom, remember NOC and the orca that followed. They’re not just swimming through the seas in silence. They might be listening—and trying to talk back.
If this amazed you as much as it amazed us, feel free to share it with others. The more we understand about the creatures we share this planet with, the better we can protect them and the oceans they call home. Whales aren’t just incredible—they’re full of surprises.
