Jan 31, 2018 · A captive orca named Wikie has become the first killer whale known to recognisably make sounds that are not part of her native repertoire - including human language words like "hello" and "bye bye".

Jan 30, 2018 · When it comes to echoing human speech, parrots are the superstars of the animal world—but a killer whale named Wikie may not be far behind. The 14-year-old orca showed off her vocal skills by imitating her trainer's words, saying things like "Amy" and "bye-bye."

Jan 12, 2025 · The team carried out the research by first training a 14-year-old orca named Wikie to copy three familiar orca sounds made by her three-year-old calf, then exposing her to five orca sounds she had never heard before.

Mar 27, 2025 · The team trained Wikie, a 14-year-old female orca living in an aquarium in France, to copy three sounds made by her three-year-old calf, and then tested her ability to imitate five unfamiliar orca sounds. Wikie was then exposed to three orca sounds and six human sounds, including the words "hello," "Amy," "ah ha," "one, two," and "bye-bye".

Jan 31, 2018 · It is the first scientific demonstration of an orca mimicking human words, which also included "Amy" -- the name of Wikie's handler -- "Bye-Bye", and "One-Two-Three".

Jan 31, 2018 · Orcas can mimic human speech—a few words of it, anyway. Researchers recently found that a female killer whale could copy the phrases "hello," "bye-bye," "Amy," and "one, two, three." The....

Jan 31, 2018 · It’s not a children’s movie, but an actual orca emitting human(ish) words. An international team of researchers has taught Wikie, a 14-year-old killer whale in France, to mimic certain simple bits of speech, a discovery that gives them insight into wild orca dialects.

Jan 14, 2025 · Wikie, the orca at the center of this groundbreaking research, has stunned scientists by mimicking human sounds, including words like “hello,” “one, two,” and even “bye bye.” Marine mammals are already known for their remarkable intelligence, but Wikie’s ability has surpassed all expectations.

Feb 2, 2018 · Scientists discovered that a captive killer whale or orca dubbed as “Wikie” could imitate human words such as “hello” and “bye-bye.” It could also count one, two, three and mimic strange sounds such as the creaking door and a loud raspberry sound.

Jan 31, 2018 · An international team of researchers, working with two orcas at an aquarium in France, have found that the whales were able to replicate the sounds of human speech, including words like "hello" and...