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A playful beluga whale at an aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, expressed vocalizations and obeyed its trainer’s gestures during an oral health check, footage posted on September 2 shows.

This video released by Mystic Aquarium shows the duo’s interaction. “Behaviors like the one shown here allow trainers to brush teeth and perform procedures such as radiographs that help detect the presence or absence of disease, foreign objects, and structural damage or anomaly,” the aquarium wrote in a caption. “It also helps to strengthen the bond between beluga and trainer.”

Beluga whales are often given the nickname “sea canaries" due to the sounds they produce for echolocation and communication, that resemble “whistles, squeals, chirps and clicks”, according to the University of Rhode Island. Credit: Mystic Aquarium via Storyful