The loneliest dolphin in the Baltic Sea: this poor creature has to chat with itself.

A new study has revealed that a dolphin in the Baltic Sea talks to itself due to loneliness, reports LiveScience.

As is well known, bottlenose dolphins are social creatures that prefer to stay with their pods. However, a few years ago, a solitary dolphin named Delle appeared in the area of the Svendborgsund Strait south of Funen Island, Denmark. This region is not typically home to dolphins, so Delle lives there all alone.

Recently, scientists deployed underwater microphones to observe how the presence of the dolphin affects the local porpoises. Researchers were shocked by the number of sounds produced by the dolphin.

"I expected we would hear just a couple of distant whistles or something like that. But I definitely did not anticipate recording thousands of different sounds," says the lead author of the study from the University of Southern Denmark, Olga Filatova.

Over the 69 days of the study, scientists recorded 10,833 sounds, including those typically associated with dolphin communication. Among all the recorded noises, there were three distinctive sounds.

"Bottlenose dolphins have what are called whistles, which are considered unique to each individual, much like names for humans. If we hadn't known that Delle was alone, we might have assumed we were hearing an entire group of dolphins engaged in various social interactions," the researcher explains.

Moreover, the scientists did not expect to hear vocalizations associated with dolphin communication.

"Such sounds are traditionally considered communicative, meaning there should be at least two dolphins 'talking' to each other. But Delle was completely alone," adds the study's author.

Initially, the scientists thought the dolphin was trying to communicate with local rowers, but then they recorded the same sounds at night when there was no one on the water.

Why the solitary dolphin is so talkative remains a mystery. Researchers speculate that he might be talking to himself, or these could be involuntary sounds triggered by certain emotions. For instance, it could be similar to how people laugh when they read something funny.

Another theory is that the dolphin was vocalizing in hopes of attracting other dolphins. Although this possibility seems unlikely, as the dolphin has spent three years in the area and knows there are no companions nearby, the scientists emphasize.

As a reminder, scientists have reported where the fastest and most elusive dolphins live. To observe these miniature and very swift creatures, one would need to head south of the Antarctic convergence.