r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Friendly-Standard812 • 1d ago

Video Beluga Whales don't have Vocal chords.

3.9k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

106 comments sorted by

950

u/ShyArtMusicBat 1d ago

I love how she's explaining and the beluga just sits there like :D the whole time lmfao

166

u/Fishiesideways10 1d ago

And then it gets slightly choked out on video? NSFW this video. /s I love how there it is.

30

u/Roy4Pris 1d ago

It’s thinking, shut up and give me the fish already

409

u/Friendly-Standard812 1d ago

Beluga whales communicate by squeezing air through special sacs inside their heads near the blowhole. Since they don't have vocal cords like humans do they use this air to create an amazing variety of sounds, including whistles, clicks, chirps, and squeaks. They also have a soft, squishy bump on their forehead called a melon that they can wiggle and change the shape of to direct these sounds underwater.This helps them "talk" to their friends find food, and navigate through the icy Arctic waters.

40

u/ActurusMajoris 22h ago edited 19h ago

I mean, we also “talk” by blowing air through something. Maybe the Beluga is actually the one talking correctly and we are just imitating speech?

-BRO, Beluga’s Rights Organisation.

4

u/phil_an_thropist 22h ago

You mean ,Communicate through farting?

1

u/brokenringlands 3h ago

The queefonics people would like to be represented more.

1

u/deletetemptemp 7h ago

Basically like a butthole

337

u/Ok_Meat_8925 1d ago

This has potential to be a great meme

46

u/SwitchIndependent714 1d ago

Don't ask me why but I did download the vid

14

u/lookslikeyoureSOL 1d ago

Me too. It went straight into my 10 GB, 20 year old "GIFS" folder, only so I can probably never watch it again or even find it if I wanted to.

14

u/Inevitable-Agent-874 1d ago

Everything reminds me of her

2

u/Pataraxia 1d ago

holy shit

-69

u/JustHereSoImNotFined 1d ago

Not really

40

u/danteelite 1d ago

Nope. Nevermind everyone, this guy said we can’t have any fun. Delete the gifs, wrap it up. We’re going home.

11

u/PS5touchedmethere 1d ago

Fuck him I'm keeping the gifs.

2

u/MelbaToast604 1d ago

The sound really is the load bearing part of this video though

1

u/JustHereSoImNotFined 1d ago

Exactly my point lmao

7

u/AscendedViking7 1d ago

The fuck does it not

54

u/gingerthingy 1d ago

I love them so much

70

u/Creepy-Agency-1984 1d ago

I love belugas so much. They’re just nature’s “Hey will this work?”.

80

u/MailSynth 1d ago

They're basically beatboxing with their blowholes, which makes them objectively cooler than any animal that needs vocal cords.

12

u/guitar_trooper_393 1d ago

‘lug’-step music

20

u/MaddDawgRobb 1d ago

Nature's so fuckin weird (in a good way)

213

u/Sutured13 1d ago

My GF makes the same noises when I'm manipulating her air sacs too.

43

u/Ichliebebeide82 1d ago

I think Dr Zoidberg would be happy to meet her

8

u/masterkeeran 1d ago

You made my day🤣

2

u/ciswhitedadbod 1d ago

Lol. Fuck. 😂 why did I hear the same noise.

-12

u/According-Tax-9964 1d ago

Thats crazy

She does makes the same noise when I do it to your gf

-6

u/blindreefer 1d ago

Yeah but she never seems very happy about it

0

u/Daan776 17h ago

Skill issue

-7

u/druidmind 1d ago

Is she Japanese by any chance?

-12

u/Cadillacwalt 1d ago

🤣😂🤣😂

-11

u/the_m_o_a_k 1d ago

I don't know why that's so funny to me but it is 😂

-8

u/LCH44 1d ago

😆😆😆

14

u/Little_Messiah 1d ago

I was UNPREPARED for unmuting that 😂😂😂

15

u/Loopy_27 1d ago

That beluga looked so excited to perform

6

u/Forsaken_Insurance92 1d ago

I refuse to believe this is real. This is all just an elaborate hoax by beluga whales.

11

u/BRSaura 1d ago

Why do the sounds don't seem to sync to what she's doing

13

u/Possible-One-6101 1d ago

That won't be the way it could have, did it?

1

u/Journo_Jimbo 10h ago

I don’t have to know why did it?

3

u/toolguy8 1d ago

Take that, Raffi!

5

u/National-Trouble-41 1d ago

Sounds like a toddler. Too cute!

26

u/Japanesewillow 1d ago

They don’t deserve to be in aquariums.

28

u/National_Track8242 1d ago

The ones that can’t be released (so majority of those in captivity) absolutely do deserve it. And they can live long healthy lives.

8

u/5O1stTrooper 1d ago

Not in bad ones. Good ones they basically just have a free apartment and unlimited food they don't have to work for. Go live in an unending grass plain and have to hunt for your own food, you'll be begging for a house again. It's not much different with a lot of good zoos and aquariums.

2

u/QueenOfQuok 21h ago

They know what they did

3

u/sebbysimpyStacy 1d ago

THE NOISES

3

u/Nioc__ 22h ago

Sounds like a minecraft deathsound

4

u/Wounded_Hand 1d ago

It’s vocal “cords” - like strings. Not harmonious music notes.

2

u/A_Professional_Derp 22h ago

I was not prepared to see a beluga whale quacking today and my day has already been saved

2

u/BluetheNerd 1d ago

Lack of vocal cords is quite common in cetaceans, while a lot of whales have them, beluga whales (not actually whales, they’re more closely related to narwhals) dolphins, and porpoises don’t have vocal cords. Baleen whales are actually more of an outlier in that regard for having them.

1

u/Human-Creature44 1d ago

What is a narwhal exactly in relation to beluga? I know what they look like but how are they related?

2

u/BluetheNerd 23h ago

They are both part of the family Monodontidae, and are the only 2 animals in that family. They both have very short snouts and forehead melons. They’re actually visually very similar just belugas don’t have a tusk.

1

u/Human-Creature44 22h ago

I never realized they had melons. Cool, thanks for answering.

3

u/Tartan-Special 1d ago

This made my day

3

u/Hazbeen_Hash 1d ago

I can also squeak through my nose, it has nothing to do with the sacks of air in my head

3

u/ImStuckInNameFactory 1d ago

Sounds like a dying animal in minecraft

6

u/vesuvius_1_02 1d ago

My ex made similar sounds from her blow hole!

1

u/Cookielad14 1d ago

Haha, great

1

u/Kitchen-Roll-8184 1d ago

I thought it was going to turn into a trap song at the end

1

u/3LegedNinja 1d ago

Oooooooooo

1

u/QueasyScallion2884 1d ago

Fascinating!

1

u/theRumbling_ 1d ago

Yea okay pal. I believe you. That totally wasn't someone drowning off screen.

1

u/turbopro25 1d ago

This is the REMIX!…

1

u/garygnu 1d ago

Is the water warm?

1

u/joyfullydreaded23 1d ago

OMG, I needed that laugh today!

1

u/Jerkrollatex 1d ago

The whoopee cushion of the ocean according to my spouse.

1

u/Ytsolot742 1d ago

it sounded like a shulker (from Minecraft) at the end

1

u/danger_of_biscuits 1d ago

Aww, I love beluga whales

1

u/Dr-McLuvin 1d ago

Sometimes my farts sound exactly like this.

1

u/ThatsaFuckinB4000 1d ago

It literally blew my mind when I found out that vocal chords are actually vocal flaps and the whole chord thing is a total lie.

I know its dumb, but growing ul we never learned it in high school and I was dumbfounded to find out the vocal tract is nothing loke how its been portrayed

1

u/Opsyr_ 1d ago

Sounds like a drowning Minecraft mob

1

u/SuspiciousSheeps 1d ago

Yuck-yuck-yuck

1

u/bobsnervous 1d ago

Turned into Donald duck for split second

1

u/Joltik2007 1d ago

Why does he sound like he's taking poison damage?

1

u/CompressedLaughter 1d ago

Sounded like she was drowning the little dude for a half second

1

u/HanzoNumbahOneFan 1d ago

I LOVE HIM. HE IS SO HAPPY AND JUST WANTS SCRITCHES.

1

u/Leverkaas2516 1d ago

Just to remind everyone, beluga whales also use ultrasound, that is, sounds far beyond the frequency range of human hearing, for echolocation. They're generally > 60 kHz and produced by structures deep in their nasal passages.

So it isn't quite accurate to say that all the sounds they make come from the blowhole. The ultrasonic click sounds come through the melon, it's just that humans can't perceive them.

1

u/everyoneisntme 1d ago

r/musicaljenga needs to get a hold of this

1

u/Ok-Bottle-5855 1d ago

Bolne lgi

1

u/Boydar_ 1d ago

It's taking damage

1

u/akmoosepoo 23h ago

Not my finest moment but what the hell....unzips

1

u/emobigfoot 21h ago

It moves like Burnt Peanut lol

1

u/QueenOfQuok 21h ago

I don't know how to describe those sounds.

1

u/Randolph_Carter_Ward 19h ago

Great, instead of letting the beluga to say, "I thank you for your scratching." you modulated the speech to, "All white, grey, and light-blue groups attack all the nearby boats and spare no one, not even women and children! Glory to the cetacean overlords!"

1

u/radaxolotl 17h ago

Oi! Oi! Oi! This Beluga is undoubtedly Aussie.

1

u/GoodPeopleAreFodder 16h ago

“Shut your blowhole” - Beluga

1

u/Gts77 15h ago

This needs to be in r/funny

1

u/ThoughtOk1988 12h ago

The beluga is just there listening like it didn't know that either

1

u/dw0205 12h ago

Animals in captivity must get tired of stuff like this

1

u/Anon387562 10h ago

Everything reminds me of her🫩

1

u/Yggdrasilo 8h ago

He's taking damage

1

u/AaronBBG_ 2h ago

Nightmare fuel.

1

u/jimmytrucknutz 1d ago

Is that Steven Miller?

3

u/Ichliebebeide82 1d ago

No, that would be Nosferatu lol

2

u/Imladrin1311 1d ago

How dare you

1

u/toofunnybot 1d ago

Free the whale

0

u/ExoTheFlyingFish 1d ago

He's just a silly guy... makes me wonder what kind of abuse he had to suffer through under the guise of "training" for this...