Noc the Beluga whale has become posthumously famous. The white whale died in captivity five years ago but recently-released analysis of its sounds shows that it was mimicking human speech well enough to fool divers, even ordering them out of the pool!
Noc had to alter its voice production intelligently to sound like humans. In the wild, Belugas are known as the 'canaries of the ocean' because of the wide range of their calls. All this echoes what the Caltech-trained polymath John Lilly had been saying for years: that dolphins were "ancient, sentient earth residents with enormous intelligence and life force; Not someone to kill but someone to learn from".
A physician and a psychoanalyst, Lilly invented the immersion tank to study sensory deprivation and inter-species communication between humans and dolphins. Lilly designed a 'communications laboratory' that would be a floating living room "where humans and dolphins could chat as equals and where they would develop a common language".
Lilly was also a pioneer of Seti, or the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence, project. He also made deep connections with eastern traditions, studying Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, following advice from Ram Dass and practised 'self-enquiry' meditation advocated by Sri Ramana Maharshi. He also travelled to Chile and trained with the Bolivian-born philosopher Oscar Ichazo.
Such eclectics were frowned upon by some scientists who dismissed Lilly as a crank. The Beluga's blast from the past should promote more open-mindedness now.