Buzz
Grunts and growls only convey a limited amount of information, so animals have come up with various unexpected communication techniques. Fortunately, research into their 'language' is progressing. With each discovery, we get closer to uncovering all the secretive things animals say when we're not around.
10. Whistling Dholes
Dholes, or Asiatic wild dogs, seem like a blend of foxes and wolves straight out of a Disney tale. These highly versatile creatures are tough and have adapted to thrive in diverse environments, from the harsh altitudes of the Himalayas to the dense jungles of Java.
Dholes form packs of 5–12 members and often express happiness with wagging tails. As social carnivores, they sometimes create larger super packs of up to 30 individuals to mix things up and meet other groups.
Unlike other canids such as wolves, jackals, and foxes, dholes have a distinctive way of communicating: whistling. As each dhole controls up to 90 square kilometers (35 mi) of land, they rely on sounds that travel far to call out to their pack members over vast distances.
The dhole’s vocal repertoire includes a variety of whistles, clucks, and sharp, high-pitched shrieks—sounds you wouldn’t expect from something so adorable. These eerie calls are not only used for greetings but also to organize coordinated attacks on larger, more delicious prey like buffalo and reindeer.
9. Humming Gorillas
Gorillas are known for many endearing traits, and now we can add humming to their list. Recent observations show that wild male gorillas hum while enjoying their meals. This behavior had previously been seen in captive gorillas, but never in the wild—where time is precious.
Humming is typically exhibited by dominant silverbacks as a dinner call. With their melodic hum, the group leader sets the mealtime and invites his companions—particularly the females, who are especially fond of a musical male—to join him at the feast.
The practice of announcing mealtime isn’t exclusive to gorillas; chimps and bonobos are noisy eaters too. In fact, researchers can determine the social structure of primates by observing the loudest members. For instance, chimps and bonobos, who have a more relaxed social hierarchy, are generally louder as they don’t have a central figure organizing meal times.
Humming can also indicate a content primate. Gorillas possess a wide vocal range and blend various hums into ongoing melodies. These tunes are particularly enthusiastic when a gorilla encounters its favorite foods. Check out here for some interspecies Muzak.
8. Poo-Sniffing Rhinos
Despite their massive, armored frames, white rhinos are notoriously bad at seeing things. To make up for their poor eyesight, evolution has endowed them with an extraordinary sense of smell, which they use to inhale deeply from the steaming dung piles left by both their companions and competitors.
Indeed, poo acts as a rhinoceros business card. A white rhino may only spend 20 seconds inspecting a familiar pile, but it will spend a full minute analyzing the scent of a stranger’s offering.
Unlike other animals that casually relieve themselves and move on, the noble white rhino maintains communal dung piles (“middens”) that are frequently revisited and refreshed. These serve to mark their territory and, through chemical signals, offer a surprisingly detailed record of their “status” and health.
7. The Syntax Of Black-Fronted Titis
In the steamy rainforests of southeastern Brazil, you might encounter the comically named black-fronted titi. Ironically, these New World monkeys aren’t actually black-fronted; instead, they sport a more mousy brown coloration. However, despite the name, they are crucial to primatologists for their highly informative alarm calls.
These small monkeys are part of a rare group that have figured out syntax and can string different language units together to form “sentences.” The chirping titis have distinct alarm calls for predators coming from the ground versus those approaching from the sky.
A rising pitch in their calls signals an approaching caracara (long-legged hawk), while a fading call warns of predatory cats lurking around the base of trees. Despite their intelligence, researchers still sought to challenge these clever monkeys.
The scientists placed a stuffed caracara and a stuffed oncilla (a small leopard) into the titi’s habitat at a Brazilian nature reserve, hoping to deceive the monkeys. It didn’t work. The monkeys quickly adapted by creating new calls, combining airborne and ground-based warnings to indicate the presence of the stalking birds and flying cats.
6. Tarsiers Use Ultrasound
Measuring a mere 13 centimeters (5 inches) tall, the bug-eyed tarsiers of Southeast Asia are among the tiniest and oldest primates. These tiny creatures have remained so unchanged over the past 45 million years that they’re often referred to as a biological time capsule.
With their large, otherworldly eyes, tarsiers also have the most extreme eye-to-body ratio in the mammal kingdom. To add to their list of superlatives, tarsiers are also some of the quietest primates.
At least, that’s true for tarsiers from Borneo and the Philippines. Interestingly, other types of tarsiers are known to be quite talkative. These shy species have developed the strange habit of opening their mouths as if about to speak, but staying silent—possibly to play with us. Researchers have theorized that all tarsiers are inherently chatty, but some communicate through inaudible (to us) means.
Sure enough, a “bat detector” picked up a flurry of communication in the ultrasonic range. Through some unverified vocal gymnastics, tarsiers emit pure ultrasound at 70 kilohertz, well beyond the human hearing limit of 20 kilohertz. Remarkably, their audible range reaches up to 91 kilohertz.
This is a remarkably unique adaptation among primates, functioning like a “private chat” that neither prey nor predator can pinpoint. Researchers have slowed down a tarsier’s call by eight times and played it back for human ears. But make sure to lower your volume.
5. Whales Have Names
Whales are incredibly social creatures, making quite a splash—often to the frustration of researchers who must differentiate between their nearly identical flukes. Taking a cue from sperm whales, scientists are now trying to identify them based on their names and accents.
Studies have shown that Caribbean sperm whales live in smaller family groups compared to their relatives abroad, making them easier to recognize. After analyzing over 4,000 calls recorded from 2005 to 2010, scientists discovered that these close-knit family units use a distinct combination of clicks (a “coda”) as a vocal name tag.
Whales not only introduce themselves individually but also have shared family calls that all members use. However, researchers struggle to differentiate these more general calls since they lack the variation found in individual names. These broader vocalizations seem especially useful when separate groups meet and need to represent their community.
To showcase the diversity of cetacean languages, whales also employ inclusive regional codas, which likely translate to something like “Hello, I’m also a whale.”
4. Bison Respect The Democratic Method
After closely observing a large herd for three months in the Monts d’Azur Biological Reserve, Amandine Ramos of the French National Center for Scientific Research discovered that European bison are remarkably democratic—proving once and for all that France is the cradle of democracy.
At first glance, bison communication might seem rather basic. They snort and make deep noises, but mostly rely on fleeting pheromones to manage their romantic interactions. Given this, it's quite unexpected that these large creatures are capable of voting, though they reserve this power for the most significant decisions, like choosing what to have for lunch.
When it comes to selecting a new grazing spot, bison subtly shift their bodies towards the area they wish to explore. Over time, the bison align themselves in the direction of their chosen destination, until a particularly bold member takes the lead.
If the others agree with the leader’s choice, the herd follows, and all is well. If not, the herd briefly splits, only to reunite under the influence of the majority. Ultimately, the leader with the most support—often a female—prevails, and the group reunites.
3. Mantis Shrimps’ Secret Light Displays
Mantis shrimps possess eyes that seem like something out of alien technology—they’re more akin to satellites than regular vision. These extraordinary eyes boast up to 16 color receptors, while humans only have three. However, despite this advanced system, mantis shrimps' color vision is surprisingly inferior compared to other animals. So what's going on?
For one, their eyes are a remarkably complex system designed to detect ultraviolet light. Even more impressive, mantis shrimps can perceive circularly polarized light, a skill that might one day be used by humans to spot cancerous cells.
Sick cells reflect light differently than healthy ones. With the right sensor, it could be possible to detect the distinctive shine characteristic of malignant tissue long before it becomes visible to the naked eye.
But what benefit does this ability provide to the shrimp?
The mantis shrimps (which are more akin to extraordinary lobsters) sport patterns that are only visible to other mantis shrimps, those who can also see circularly polarized light.
When given a choice between burrows, these typically aggressive stomatopods will gravitate toward one that doesn't reflect circularly polarized light. This signals that the burrow is not already claimed by another mantis shrimp.
2. Blue-Capped Cordon-Bleu Songbirds ‘Tap Dance’
Blue-capped cordon-bleu songbirds are such talented dancers that we didn't even realize they could dance. These birds have been well-studied, yet their quick footwork was so rapid it went unnoticed for a long time. Initially, their foot movements were thought to be some odd type of ornithological jumping jack.
The discovery of their slick foot movements came as a surprise when researchers at Hokkaido University examined the courtship process at 30 frames per second, and then at 300. Slow-motion footage revealed that tapping occurs most often when both the male and female are perched together.
Scientists believe the tapping adds a rhythmic element to the male's courtship, which also includes songs, head bobs, dancing, and baton twirling. According to lead researcher Masayo Soma, it's an impressive example of multitasking, making it the first-ever avian 'multimodal dance display' performed together.
Interestingly, females respond by dancing for their suitors—but their movements are less intense and more erratic. Males, on the other hand, go all out, performing up to 200 steps in an astonishing five seconds.
1. Jackdaws Stare Rivals Down
While eye contact is a common behavior among primates, it was long believed to be exclusive to humans, monkeys, apes, and their relatives. However, a few years ago, researchers made an unexpected discovery: jackdaws also defend their territory with a sharp, menacing stare.
Typically, birds don’t engage in staring. Their eyes are not positioned for that kind of behavior. But jackdaws are an exception. Instead of building nests, they settle in natural tree cavities—prime real estate in areas with a high population of jackdaws. As a result, they often find themselves in conflicts when they disturb already-occupied cavities.
But being members of the crow and raven family, jackdaws are clever and use an intense, 'tough-guy' stare to ward off potential intruders. Unlike other birds with plain black or brown eyes, jackdaws have strikingly pale irises that give them an edge in intimidating rivals.
To test whether eyes play a role in communication, researchers from Cambridge set up an experiment with 100 nesting boxes. Each box was adorned with one of four images: a jackdaw's face, a jackdaw with black eyes, a single jackdaw eye, or a plain black image. The results were telling: jackdaws consistently avoided boxes featuring the bright-eyed faces, landing less frequently and quickly moving on from them.
