Orcas may join parrots and the other animals who can imitate human speech.

A study examined a captive orca who is able to mimic human sounds and words. Listeners may find the voice eerie but some of the phrases are unmistakable.

Not only that, the researchers believe that this mimicry can explain why killer whale pods have different dialects. The real question is: Does the orca understand the words she’s saying?

Meet Wikie
Wikie the orca in her home in Marineland Aquarium in France
Photos by Marineland Antibes (provided by Sara Farrell)
The study is based on a killer whale called Wikie, who lives in Marineland Aquarium in Antibes, France.

She is capable of sounds like “hello,” “Amy,” and blowing raspberries.

What’s remarkable is that Wikie is capable of mimicking her trainer’s words with little to no practice. Sometimes she succeeds on her first try.

Imitating orcas
Wikie is capable of repeating human words and soundsPhotos by Inherently Wild (provided by Marion)
Mimicry is a known part of the species’ abilities. Orcas copy the movements of their kin, and some reports suggest they imitate the noises of sea lions and bottlenose dolphins.

“We wanted to see how flexible a killer whale can be in copying sounds,” said Josep Call, professor at the University of St. Andrews and a co-author of the study, to the Guardian.

“We thought what would be really convincing is to present them with something that is not in their repertoire — and in this case ‘hello’ [is] not what a killer whale would say.”