Sperm whales have their own dialects — and cultures

The existence of culture is often considered a key component of what it means to be human. But, loosely speaking, it seems that some other animals have cultures, too.

A study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications found that sperm whale clans stick together because group members share behaviors. The study specifically cites click patterns, called codas, that are distinct among sperm whale clans as evidence of this whale "culture." It turns out that whales, like humans, actually learn these behaviors from each other in a practice called "social learning."

"We're not that different from them," Mauricio Cantor, the author of the study, explained to National Geographic. Cantor's study also helps explain how female sperm whales and their calves organize into separate clans with their own "dialects" of language. Sperm whales join killer whales, chimps, and certain species of birds in this group of animals believed to have cultures that function not so differently than our own.

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