Point of view

Think that only humans recognize themselves as unique individuals? Think again! Dolphins have been shown to produce unique identity calls for themselves and others. These identity calls, which scientists call “signature whistles,” function like names, allowing dolphins to effectively greet and call to other dolphins. Mothers teach infant dolphins their own unique signature whistles. Researchers have shown that dolphins can match specific signature whistles to specific dolphins, thus demonstrating that dolphins may have their own sense of identity!