Humpback whales are often seen around the northern coasts of the UK in the winter months as they migrate between their nutrient-rich feeding areas in the Arctic and their breeding grounds in the Caribbean and northwest African waters.
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Recently, humpback sightings around the UK have also become increasingly common in coastal areas further south, perhaps as a result of the end of commercial whaling and the resulting global rise in the animals’ numbers. For example, a humpback was seen breaching off the south coast of England in January 2025, giving observers between Hastings and Eastbourne a real treat. Other whales have also been spotted around Newquay in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Breaching – when a whale rises out of the water and high into the air, making a tremendous splash as it falls back - is believed to be a form of communication. The crash into the water can be heard over large distances and is thought to signal to other humpbacks that the individual is there.
Are humpback whales really trying to 'talk' to humans?
This is not the only form of non-verbal communication between whales that has intrigued the world of science. Humpbacks’ habit of teaming up to blow bubbles and form a ring around a school of small fish to ‘corral’ them for feeding is now thought to be a way of ‘talking’ to each other as well, along with their vocal calls.
A new study by scientists from the SETI Institute and the University of California, published in Marine Mammal Science, has addressed this aspect of whale behaviour, but in relation to humpbacks producing large bubble rings during friendly encounters with humans. These, the Whale-SETI researchers surmise, seem to be an attempt on the part of the whales to sendmessages to the non-whale visitors who have arrived in their patch of ocean.
“Humpback whales live in complex societies, are acoustically diverse, use bubble tools and assist other species being harassed by predators,” says co-lead author Dr Fred Sharpe. “Now, akin to a candidate signal, we show they are blowing bubble rings in our direction in an apparent attempt to playfully interact, observe our response, and/or engage in some form of communication.”
A candidate signal is the name given to radio waves that can be detected coming from the depths of space, that have been the subject of much analysis as to their source and meaning. The overall purpose of the SETI Institute’s research is to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the universe. Non-verbal communications, as well as attempts at speech, wherever they occur, are seen as key to furthering our understanding of all life currently on Earth as well as any sentient beings that might be encountered in the future.
If space exploration brings us in direct communication contact with life forms on otherplanets, the work the researchers are doing to understand the bubble messages sent by humpback whales may produce learnings and techniques that can eventually be applied to communications coming from outside our world.
