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Communicating with Dolphins

As has been widely reported over many years, it has long been suspected that dolphins, as well as having the ability to understand our language, have their own language and method of communication with each other.

Dolphins have large brains and it is believed their capacity for reasoned behaviour is similar to that of humans. They communicate using sounds such as clicks and whistles but it is only recently that marine biologists have begun to have an idea of what these communications may mean.

It is believed that the use of clicks enables dolphins to understand their surroundings and they also possibly use them as a means of communication, although this is still an ongoing study.

With regard to the whistles, one school of thought is that they may be the names of the dolphins and are used as a method of identification. Scientists are studying how a dolphin gets its own whistle and which member of the pod might create them. As dolphins mingle in more than one pod, a need to identify each other is necessary.

The ongoing research into dolphins continues and every advance clearly demonstrates the sophistication of both their behaviour and communication system. However, at present, it seems we may never know all the complexities of dolphin language and communication or, indeed, be able to translate it.