The Whale That Spoke Like a Person
A diver working in a navy pen surfaced and asked who had told him to get out. No one had. It was a white whale.
What was reported
NOC was a beluga whale kept by the US Navy in San Diego for research. In 1984, staff began to hear what sounded like people talking in the distance, near the pens. One day a diver came up asking who had told him to 'get out'.
It was NOC, making sounds with the rhythm and pitch of human speech. Recordings show him mimicking people for several years before he stopped as he matured.
Explanations offered
Belugas are among the most vocal whales, and NOC seems to have learned to imitate the people around him, changing how he used his nasal passages to do it. A study of the recordings was published in 2012.
- When
- 1984
- Where
- San Diego, California, USA
- Witnesses
- US Navy researchers and divers
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
More from California