Alerting from danger

When we find ourselves in danger, we tend to alert others around us. Technologically, we have built alarm detecting systems for any kind of intruder's offensive activity taking place like someone crossing the laser beam to steal some valuables in a museum or any other place etc.

Similarly, animals are capable of detecting predators due to their well-developed senses. After the detection of danger, how do different animals alarm other members of their group, this post will illustrate.

Opening the mouth is such behavior which occurs before any organism sleeps. But, for animals like hippos yawning is a warning signal of danger for the entire bloat (hippo's group). 

Image courtesy of [Tim Seed] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Similar to apes including humans, elephants do form strong, emotional bonds with others. These pachyderms can detect dangers by their acute hearing and smelling sights. But, if that danger is a human being, then one individual will emit a unique call which means 'humans are around' thus alerting the entire herd. Truthfully, all elephants boast this unique call.

For a section of animals, their acute vision helps in sensing the predators. 

A giraffe can accurately scan the surroundings of its habitat, be it grasslands or semi deserts. While scanning, when its eyes spot a predator like a lion or a leopard, they will grunt or snort warning its tower (giraffe's group).Thanks to their acute vision and most importantly their height.

Similarly, zebras will bray loudly and the entire herd flees off from the place where the predator is. Deer and antelopes emit alerting noises and run with the entire herd. This is all because of their acute visions to spot an approaching predator.


Warning by sounds is even common in rodents like prairie dogs who do so by barking, beavers do it by slapping their tails on water's surface etc.

Stomping the feet on the ground is observed in other acute vision animals like kangaroos and antelopes like gazelles. One may feel like they are challenging the predator but they are announcing their groups about the danger.



So, it is true that animals have their own behaviors to keep themselves and their other group members safe and sound from the danger.

Species that deceive

The animal kingdom has names for species which are called by other names. Majority of the names contain the names of animals which have their own species. For instance, African elephant is an elephant, blue whale is a whale etc.

But, there are names of species whose names literally deceive us which we thought that they are those species. This post reveals those species who have cheated us by their names.

Living in the undergrounds of Prairies (temperate grasslands of North America), prairie dogs are one such species. These burrowers aren't dogs by name but rodents characterized by their gnawing teeth, rodent-like head etc.

Cetaceans which are characterized by black & white markings, killer whales or orcas aren't whales but dolphins. In fact, they are the largest of dolphins. Thanks to their ability to get trained easily.






Really cute-looking red critters inhabiting Asia's mountain forests called red pandas aren't pandas in real sense but just its own species without any family relation but in the group of skunks,raccoons,civets etc.Really smart animal to boast its own identity.





As it is known, cougar is an animal known to boast many names in English. One of such names is the mountain lion. Going by the name, it isn't included in the sub-family of lions but in that of jaguarundi (a pale-colored small Tropical American  wild cat) shown in the image beside. But, in reality the sub-family of lions contains jaguars and leopards along with lions themselves.

We would be stumped to find that an animal called as horned toad isn't a toad but a kind of lizard. These scaly critters boast a ridiculously bizarre talent of shooting blood through their eyes when in defense many times to canine animals (dogs,wolves and coyotes) who would not only get confused but also receive a foul taste.


So, whenever such names are heard we now really know well what these animals are.

Time to sniff

Sniffing is synonymous to smelling. As we along with other animals sniff through our nose, there are other weird ways through which animals sniff. And, sniffing isn't only about smelling normally, it is about doing at certain times which this post is going to tell about.


As nose is a sniffing organ for us, for snakes and lizards, their tongue acts as their nose. How strange it is that for them to smell, they have to flicker their tongues. But for a group of venomous snakes, they have  extraordinary sense organs i.e. the pits on their face enabling them to detect heat of their warm-blooded prey.  Pit vipers are those snakes which include species like pit vipers, rattlesnakes etc. Excellent organs for these serpents to give bull's eye strike to their prey in the dark.

Almost the same like pit vipers, God has given cats whiskers as gifts. Apart from detection of faintest of smells, they also boast a surprising skill of sniffing out prey's pulses in a narrow closed space. When these pulses get sniffed, it won't be long for kitties to strike at it.

One would come across amazing close ups of animals with their lips curled back along with raised head. Sounds funny, but in reality its no laughing matter. Its a behavior of Flehmen response used for capturing scent particles for purposes like sniffing out fit females for reproduction etc. This behavior is popular among large number of mammals like predatory ( lions, tigers etc.) and non-predatory species (elephants and ungulates like horses, zebras, giraffes, rhinos etc.). Thanks to their vomeronasal organs located at the roof of their mouths.

Has anybody thought of an animal which sniffs through its rear end. Turtles are such animals but it is only some species which boast this odd talent of back respiration. The Australian Fitzroy river turtle is one such species which gains around 72% of oxygen by this way.

So, this post has given info about other ways animals sniff their surroundings.

No need for loudspeaker-2

Coming to the second part of the blog of those animals boasting loud noises.

Even, the largest herbivores have the most high-pitched vocalizations. Elephants which are terrestrial giants are symbolic for their loud trumpets and also horrifying loud roars. These sounds are audible to other elephants standing at a distance of 2 km away. Even, their infra sound which is grumbling is known to travel far off distance.

Similarly, another terrestrial giant hippos are again louder with their grunts and bellows with the bellow of a bull hippopotamus being too loud to hear.

If hippos are loud, their relatives which are actually cetaceans ( whales & dolphins ) are also the same. Loudest among them are two whales - the gigantic blue whale whose whistles are really loud out sounding a jet engine and can be heard by other whales of its kind. But, the loudest not only among the entire category of whales but of all animals is the sperm whale. These toothed cetaceans are the loudest with their clicks lasting from 15-30 seconds out sounding blue whale.



And, the Guinness world record holder for the noisiest land animal, the howler monkey is no exception. Their call resembling a threatening roar rather than a howl can be heard for miles away in the rain forests sounding around 128 db.




Other animals with loud noises include tiger pistol shrimp, Greater bulldog bat, American bullfrog ( loudest amphibian). 

So, the posts of this topic (1&2) tells us to shield our god given ears while listening to these animals.

No need for a loudspeaker-1

When we see someone speaking so loudly very frequently, we get uncomfortable,scared and even irritated and angry. But, when these folks talk on loudspeaker, we along with others just want to flee from that place as quickly as possible.

Similarly, the sounds of some animals are loud enough that they don't even need loudspeaker to communicate with other animals of their own species. We would get terrified by listening to the sounds of these creatures which are some of the loudest on the planet.

 Image courtesy of [Maggie Smith] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As we all know, that big cats produce many sounds and out of them, roar is the iconic sound of many species. Both lions and tigers have robust roars and can be heard from around 4 miles away. In case of lions, both the genders roar, but it is lions (males) who have louder and sonorous (deeper) roars which they can even extend its duration (to around 2 mins). 

Though the tiger's roar is also louder and is of short duration, it holds a baffling surprise i.e. ability to paralyze its prey. True, their roar along with their infra-sound growl boasts the strength to paralyze not only its prey species but also Homo Sapiens of all kinds i.e. even experienced trainers.Well, this can even be a warning for any of those going to any zoo or India's wildlife sanctuary.

Indeed, it feels terrifying by listening to the vocalizations of these mighty predators.

Even, there are other predators which don't need a loudspeaker. Being the largest member of the dog family, grey wolves have louder howls which can be heard from a longer distance. The same case is with spotted hyenas with their whoops and giggles being equally loud which are symbolic sounds of their clan/cackle (a hyena's group).



As this is the first part, there are even some more creatures with louder,ear-pricking noises which will be in the next part of this blog.