To continue from where I stopped my last post, let's talk about how do animals express their feelings or generally communicate in terms of their sounds. It is true that just as we talk for a reason, animals do make sounds which have many purposes.
Big cats like lions roar not only to shield their territory from other lions but also to communicate and bring back the scattered members of the pride. But, when these predators roar, they can even extend their duration and this voice can be heard far away.In case of tigers, roaring duration is shorter compared to lions. They roar to communicate with other tigers, after bringing down their prey and even during mating. Also, these pantherines (big cats) have a wider vocal repertoire compared to other wild cats. They make sounds like 'prusten' or chuffing' which sounds like a rattling snort through the nose. Other sounds used are grunt while charging, woof when startled, hiss when getting in an attack mode etc.
Elephants usually make low rumbles to communicate within the herd. They trumpet when they are surprised or excited. Quite surprisingly, giraffes too aren't silent actors in the animal kingdom. These towering giants do make sounds and some voices vary among sexes for different purposes like bulls ( males ) will cough while courting whereas does ( females ) will bellow to call their calves back and calves will bleat and moo for simply communicating. In 2014, scientists have revealed in their research that giraffes do make a strange humming sound at night which is akin to motor bike's engine and the purpose is still a puzzle for scientists whether they are communicating with other giraffes or in their dreams.
For some animals, their vocalizing time comes only during the mating season to attract females. Like deer species like moose, red deer, fallow deer during the rut where the males bellow loudly to attract females. The same is evident even in reptiles like crocodiles, alligators where the bulls (males) also bellow to attract cows(females) as well as to convey sexual readiness. Even, the largest species of birds, ostriches follows the same ritual where the males make booming sounds akin to lion's roar to impress the mates.
But, some make sound for their meal quest. It is evident in micro (small) bats and only one species of mega (big) bat- the Egyptian fruit bat, dolphins, sperm whales where this process called echolocation is used.
Big cats like lions roar not only to shield their territory from other lions but also to communicate and bring back the scattered members of the pride. But, when these predators roar, they can even extend their duration and this voice can be heard far away.In case of tigers, roaring duration is shorter compared to lions. They roar to communicate with other tigers, after bringing down their prey and even during mating. Also, these pantherines (big cats) have a wider vocal repertoire compared to other wild cats. They make sounds like 'prusten' or chuffing' which sounds like a rattling snort through the nose. Other sounds used are grunt while charging, woof when startled, hiss when getting in an attack mode etc.
Elephants usually make low rumbles to communicate within the herd. They trumpet when they are surprised or excited. Quite surprisingly, giraffes too aren't silent actors in the animal kingdom. These towering giants do make sounds and some voices vary among sexes for different purposes like bulls ( males ) will cough while courting whereas does ( females ) will bellow to call their calves back and calves will bleat and moo for simply communicating. In 2014, scientists have revealed in their research that giraffes do make a strange humming sound at night which is akin to motor bike's engine and the purpose is still a puzzle for scientists whether they are communicating with other giraffes or in their dreams.
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| Image courtesy of [Humpata1] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
But, some make sound for their meal quest. It is evident in micro (small) bats and only one species of mega (big) bat- the Egyptian fruit bat, dolphins, sperm whales where this process called echolocation is used.
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