Orcas keep up like Kardashians

Killer whales catch prey by communicating in throaty tones that resemble the voices of Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton and Julia Fox.

Known as “vocal fry”, in humans it produces the lowest sounds by dragging out syllables. Now the phenomenon has been identified in orcas and dolphins who use a similar technique for echolocation.

Lead author Prof Cien Elemans, of the University of Southern Denmark, said: “Vocal fry is a voice register that is often used in American English.”

The drawl is a common way of speaking in California. It has been picked up across the world thanks to the popularity of US media.

Whales and dolphins can co-operate using sound as they follow prey more than a mile beneath the waves in complete darkness. The study in the journal Science identified an air-driven nasal source that operates at different levels, like the human voice.*