Excellent article in this past Sunday's NY Times Magazine on a study done in a Baja lagoon with gray whales and humans and interspecies communications.
It seems that the gray whales are actively socializing with humans in the calving area, even bringing their young boatside to see the researchers
Recent studies on their brain structure show that they have large concentrations of spindle cells - neurons that are responsible for functions like complex language, self-awareness, compassion, grieving, etc - that were once thought to be associated only with humans and some of the higher primates. Some species have been found to have a total brain mass of 19 pounds
Plus, they have a 15
million year jump on us in terms of evolution.
Really good read - the article is here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/ma...2whales-t.html
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