NEWS for DIVERS

NEWS for DIVERS from around the WORLD

Beluga whale talks like a human

A Beluga whale that talks!

Even a diver was confused when he thought it was a human.

National Marine Mammal Foundation in San Diego on Monday published details the about the case of the white Beluga whale named Noc who began to mimic the human voice.

"The whale's vocalizations often sounded as if two people were conversing in the distance," says Dr. Sam Ridgway, President of the National Marine Mammal Foundation in San Diego.

Noc was heard "talking" several times before the scientists were able to identify that the sound was actually coming from him. One diver actually thought it was someone giving him underwater directions and telling him to "get out," reports NBC San Diego.

Scientists began recording Noc's vocalization for the next four years. You can hear him "talking" by clicking on the video. The scientists theorized that because Noc heard human speech, he began spontaneously mimicking it.

Noc only talked for about four years before and no longer made the sounds he matured. The study was done back in 1984 and Noc has since passed away.

"While it's been a number of years since we first encountered this spontaneous mimicry, it's our hope that publishing our observations now will lead to further discoveries about marine mammal learning and vocalization," said Ridgway.

source: http://www.examiner.com/article/beluga-whale-caught-on-video-talking-like-a-human

Dive in Sulu

Our dive in Sulu is one of the most memorable dive in my entire life.

Why?

I know being a diver is also a risky job. Anything could happen even for expert divers. But not the kind of  danger that we encounter. Certainly you never think that you could be beheaded below for some reason but to think that you are somewhere near a group considered terrorist by the world government were accounted for beheading their hostages and making news since 2000.

After i took pictures of the sunken ship 210 feet under the sea, we examine all options on how to re-float the ship. After taking several shots at the ship, Nikonos V underwater camera is not working well now after 200ft. I checked my Nikonos V because the last time i took picture below, shutter did not work well. So I open my camera and saw some moisture so i decided not use our camera for the rest of day. Nikonos V has its limitations. Lesson learned? Gadgets never adjust unlike humans. We can adjust to situations. Even if it is made in Japan. But the good thing is we took enough pictures of the sunken ship.