The animals’ complex songs share structural patterns with human language that may make them easier for whales to learn, a new study suggests.

The sounds that make up humpback whale songs follow some of the same statistical rules seen in human languages, which may be because of how they are learned

Language has long been considered a uniquely human trait, with features that mark it out as distinct from the communication of all other species. However, research published in Science has uncovered the same statistical structure that is a hallmark of human language in humpback whale song.

Scientists have discovered that human language and whale songs have remarkable similarities in the way they are segmented and structured.

Humpback whales learn their haunting melodies in much the same way humans learn words For all the world’s linguistic diversity, human languages still obey some universal patterns. These run even deeper than grammar and syntax;

Research has revealed a previously undetected ‘language-like structure’ in whale song that was thought to be unique to human language.