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been tagged, in order for us to follow their
movements and know exactly where they are, and some have even had
microphones and cameras implanted, giving continuous recordings for
the researchers.
    What did we do with all this information?
    Endless records of whale and dolphin sounds
were collected in oceans all over the world and at different times
of the year, and then analysed, classified and stored. Some studies
were longitudinal, seeing how sounds and behaviour of individuals
and groups changed over time; and some were cross-sectional,
comparing different groups at the same times.
    In the early 2020s, breakthroughs started
happening in decoding cetacean language and communication.
    Research into whale and dolphin sounds showed
that they use
    3D imagery in much of their communications,
making a type of sono-pictorial or quasi-holographic language.
Sound-pictures can be shown in a rapid sequence, something like the
individual frames of a film. This language could convey subtleties
even more complex than our own, rather one-dimensional, human
languages.
    Whale and dolphin researchers and watchers
around the world were reporting a propensity by some, especially
older matriarchs and lone males, to come closer to boats and show
more interest than usual, with more eye-contact and sounds
produced, often almost human sounds. This gave researchers new hope
of progress in communicating with cetaceans.”

CHAPTER 4
     
     
    “What are the latest developments in
understanding and communicating with cetaceans?
    After closer contact between humans and
cetaceans, many people became very excited, and money from sponsors
poured in as never before.
    Marine linguists converged on a few notable
spots for cetacean contacts all over the world, from California to
Costa Rica, Argentina to Ireland, South Africa to Australia, and
Samoa to Japan. In the Southern hemisphere, late Winter to early
Summer is a time when most whales do not feed or have to go
anywhere in particular, other than for some to calve or mate, so
they have some ‘free time’. One of those spots was in my home-town
of Plettenberg Bay, a well-sheltered sweep of curving shoreline and
well away from the underwater noise of the shipping lanes and
fishing boats.
    We had hydrophones and a reliable network of
spotters on a stretch of coastline about 150 kilometres long, from
Knysna to Robberg, ‘Plett’, Keurboomstrand, Nature’s Valley and
Storm’s River.
    Have I ever made friends with a whale or
dolphin, and what type of personality (or ‘dolphinality’) did it
have?
    I have always found cetaceans friendly when
the situation is right and they don’t feel threatened.
    While we monitored all recordings closely, we
also went out in boats, and found that whales and dolphins were
coming closer as they got to know us better. We had already learned
some basic communication skills, including having our own
‘signature calls’, and had established relationships with some of
the ‘regulars’. A whale, an old loner male whom I had come across
many times and with whom I had talked before, known as Aristotle,
was the first to arrive. He was in good spirits and seemed deeply
appreciative that I was there. He related directly to me and looked
me straight in the eye at all times, seeming to convey subtle
nuances of expression by moving his eyeball or pupil slightly as he
made each sound. He encouraged me to talk a lot and listened
intently as I spoke, his eyeball flickering in rhythm with my
speech.
    If I stopped, he would imitate my last few
words in urgent tones, as if to spur me on again. But he also
realised that I had an understanding of whale language and would
use sounds that I understood, and would teach me a few new
expressions, which I would record and store in the memory of the
whale voice synthesiser which we used for talking ‘Whalesh’.
    We were also fortunate to have with us a
well-known and gifted animal communicator, who uses telepathy and
thought projection, giving