Wild creatures chat, flirt, warn, and negotiate – even across species. “…and so then I said…” Wild animals communicate with each other constantly through a variety of complex signals, though they obviously don’t use spoken language like humans. They can... The post Voices of the wild – how animals communicate. appeared first on Sharp Eye.
Wild creatures chat, flirt, warn, and negotiate – even across species.
“…and so then I said…”
Wild animals communicate with each other constantly through a variety of complex signals, though they obviously don’t use spoken language like humans. They can even communicate with other species, especially with calls of alarm or to cooperate when hunting. These behaviors reveal how species survive, find food, defend territory, avoid danger, and care for each other. Animals use sounds like roars, whistles, barks, chirps as well as colors and scary faces to warn of danger, attract mates, and coordinate group behaviors. Communication helps form social bonds, coordinate hunts, and even pass down survival knowledge. This communication is essential for their survival.
Methods of Communication:
Vocalizations
A lion’s roar can be heard up to 5 miles away. It has the loudest roar of all the big cats. The loud sound lets lions locate and connect members of the pride and warn enemies to keep their distance.
Birds and their songs
Birds are some of the most talented singers around. A mockingbird can mimic other birds, car alarms, and even ringing phones. Their songs vary in length and delivery and serve multiple purposes: claiming territory, impressing potential partners, or confusing predators. A shorter call may be warning of a predator, a longer, melodic song is to attract a mate.
Frogs are noisy
Frogs are another great example of animal noisiness. On summer nights, male frogs gather, croak and ribbit together. Each call is meant to attract females, and the louder frogs get noticed first.
More examples of wild animals’ vocal communicating skills:
- Whale songs: Humpback whales and certain blue whales produce complex, repeated songs that are audible for miles through the ocean. These songs are primarily used during mating season.
- Wolf howls: Wolves howl to stay in contact with pack members over long distances, coordinate hunting efforts, and warn rival packs to stay away from their territory.
- Vervet monkey calls: These monkeys have different specific alarm calls for different predators. For example, one call indicates a snake, and another warns of an eagle.
Body language & visual clues
Not all messages are spoken. Many wild species let their colors do the talking. This can involve coloration, patterns, and displays, like the bright colors of a poisonous frog warning predators, or the bioluminescence of fireflies. Animals also use physical gestures and body posture. This includes facial expressions, and movement. Examples are a peacock fanning its tail feathers or a gorilla showing confidence through its body.
- Poison dart frogs are tiny but impossible to miss. Their bright blue, yellow, or red skin sends a clear warning: stay away. (See image above).
- Peacock tails: The elaborate, colorful tail feathers of a male peacock are a visual display to attract females.
- Lion’s threat displays: A lion’s facial expressions and body posture can show its mood and intentions. A threat might be signaled by a direct stare and baring teeth.
- Chameleons often change color not just for camouflage but to signal mood or intent. Darker shades can mean stress, while brighter tones may be used to impress a mate.
- Fish also use color in clever ways. Some tropical species have bold patterns that confuse predators, while others glow under UV light to send hidden signals.
- Gorillas use a wide vocabulary of body language similar to humans. A sideways glance, a chest beat, or the way they lean can show confidence, nervousness, or playfulness.
- Elephants use ears, trunks, and even their massive size to express A raised trunk might mean curiosity, while flared ears can show that an elephant feels threatened.
- Meerkats are masters of combining posture and sound. A sentry standing tall while the rest of the group feeds is sending a clear message: danger could be near.
- Even tiny insects like honeybees use body language. Their wiggle dance gives precise directions to nectar sources, with each movement representing distance and direction.
Signals using scent
Pheromones are chemicals animals release to send specific messages through smell, for example, marking territory with urine or using smells to find food.
- Territory marking: Animals like wolves, foxes, and lions mark their territory with urine and feces to let others know they are present and to keep their distance.
- Mating: Male boars release pheromones in their saliva to attract females ready to mate.
- Ant trails: Ants use pheromones to lay down scent trails that guide other ants to a food source. The strength of the scent indicates the richness of the potential nourishment.
Tactile Signals
Touch is a form of communication, especially for social bonding, mating, and between a mother and her young. For example, primates groom one another to reinforce social relationships.
Interspecies communication
Shared signals:
Communication between different species can lead to mutually beneficial interactions and friendships, as seen with different species warning each other about predators.
Animals from different species sometimes “eavesdrop” on each other – sharing signals which are understood by multiple species. Some animals, many birds, and mammals like iguanas in Madagascar, can understand the alarm calls of other species, like flycatchers, to be warned of a shared predator or other danger.
Cooperative communication:
Some animals, like orcas and certain birds of prey, have been observed to work with other species to hunt, showing a form of interspecies cooperation and communication. Groupers and moray eels in coral reefs have also been observed communicating with each other to coordinate hunting tactics.
Humans also observe wild species to interpret alarm signals about danger or a dramatic climate event. When Mount Etna erupted last spring, a scientist in Sicily checked with his trusted weather forecasters, twelve goats. Even though Etna was spewing lava and ash, the goats remained calm. In past eruptions, the goats had become frantic. Sure enough, this Etna eruption turned out to be minor and caused no damage.
Compared to human language, animal communication is not considered to have the same complicated grammatical structure or precise expressive impact. However, some recent studies using artificial intelligence have found that certain animals, like elephants and dolphins, may use “name-like” calls to address individuals, showing a more sophisticated communication system than previously thought.
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