New study suggests bubble rings are not just about food or mating — they might be signals to us
San Francisco, June 12 — In an astonishing twist to what we thought we knew about marine behaviour, a team of researchers from the SETI Institute — best known for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, has proposed that humpback whales have been trying to communicate with humans for years. And all this time, we’ve missed the message.
A newly published study in Marine Mammal Science suggests that the enigmatic bubble rings often observed near these ocean giants may not just be about hunting or romance. According to the WhaleSETI research team, the whales might actually be saying “hello.”
The smoke signals of the sea
For decades, marine biologists have watched humpbacks blow bubble rings, beautiful, smoke-like vortexes in the water, and linked the behavior to feeding strategies or mating displays. But SETI researchers now believe the whales could be directing these rings at humans, possibly as a playful or communicative gesture.
“They are blowing bubble rings in our direction in an apparent attempt to playfully interact, observe our response, and/or engage in some form of communication,” said Dr. Fred Sharpe, co-lead author of the study and researcher at the University of California, Davis.
Friendly encounters and playful signals
Between 2019 and 2023, the WhaleSETI team compiled data from 12 distinct bubble ring episodes involving 11 individual humpback whales. These cases weren’t just logged by scientists but were also reported by amateur observers via social media posts, interviews, and conferences. In total, 39 rings were documented, many of them forming near boats and swimmers.
In nine instances, the whales were seen blowing rings within proximity to humans. The animals would then tail-splash, spray water through their blowholes, and move in seemingly playful patterns around boats, all while maintaining a non-threatening demeanour.
“They continued to chase the boats without any intent to attack them,” the researchers noted. “Scientists think this is a clear sign that the whales are trying to communicate with humans, and saying, ‘Hey, let’s chat!’”
From Earth’s oceans to deep space
SETI, which typically focuses its efforts on signals from space, believes that recognizing such intelligent non-human behavior on Earth could offer insights into what alien communication might look like.
“If intelligent marine life is using these rings to communicate with humans, aliens of a distant world might be doing something similar,” the study explains.
In essence, the team sees humpbacks as a kind of “Earth-based model” for understanding how non-human intelligences might initiate contact — be it through a bubble ring or an interstellar pulse.
Bridging the species gap
The findings challenge not just our understanding of humpback behavior but the very definition of communication across species. By considering the idea that whales might be deliberately seeking human interaction, WhaleSETI hopes to advance both marine science and astrobiology.
“Whale communication might hold the key to unlocking how intelligence expresses itself beyond human norms, even beyond our planet,” the authors wrote.
The SETI Institute has now launched further efforts to document and analyze bubble ring behaviors, and to explore whether this form of non-verbal signaling might parallel communication methods we’ve long speculated extraterrestrials could use.
As Dr. Sharpe puts it: “Maybe the message from the stars is already here, we just needed to listen underwater.”
