How Do Dolphins Talk?

Touch

• Dolphins use methods of touching to talk to one another. Mothers stroke their calves, and male and female dolphins engage in physical interaction in preparation for mating. These physical acts are ways that dolphins use their bodies and movements to communicate with one another.

Body Language

• Body language is another physical way that dolphins talk to one another. They use jumps and tail slaps help to tell other dolphins in the pod where a dolphin is in relation to the other dolphins, for example. Males also try to attract females by swimming by them on their backs with their chest enlarged.

Sonar

• Sonar is vocal communication used by dolphins to talk to one another. They emit sound waves that sound like clicks through their blowholes and then through the fat on their forehead. These sound waves are channeled in a direction by the fat lump. When the sound waves are returned back by an echo, the dolphins are able to gain perspective on where they are in relation to one another.

Whistles

• Whistles are also used to talk to one another. The whistles allow the dolphins to express emotion and get the attention of other dolphins. Dolphins can also imitate the whistles of other dolphins, which is a way they relate to one another within the pod and with dolphins from other pods.