One of the best known hyena calls is the giggle. It is a high pitched stocatto sound that is produced by a distressed or submissive animal. It occurs when they are in a situation where they are excited and conflicted between approaching and leaving the situation.
One hyena call studied most frequently is the whoop. It is a loud musical call that starts with a very low tone which is modulated up and down in pitch. It is a distance communication call used to announce their presence when they are out of visual contact. Each hyena has its unique whoop, so they can be used for individual recognition.
Hyenas also have a series of softer sounds, like growls and groans, that are used when adults approach each other, and when mothers call their babies out of underground dens. These sounds are often produced in conjunction with complex body language. They are probably used in the different circumstances because they are soothing, not threatening sounds. Through an experiment, it was found that seeing cubs elicited more, acoustically different groans from adult hyenas. More studies need to be done to determine the exact meaning and significance of these softer groans and growls.
Posted by:
Emily Crete
original article can be found at:
http://www.acoustics.org/press/155th/theunissen.htm
edited : 11/14/09
It's funny how we try to get animals to communicate the way we do (using words/labels for things) rather than try to understand their methods of communication. The use of growls and whoops have evolved to work well in hyena groups. I think that the more we try to decipher the way animals communicate, the more we may find out about our own evolved methods.
ReplyDeletePosted by Alliam Ortiz
I think it is really interesting that their "giggle" is used in a situation when they are conflicted between approaching or leaving a situation. I didn't know that animals had communication signals for that. It is also interesting that they give out the same call when approaching an adult and with their cubs. I would think that they would be very different from each other. Do you know why they use the same call?
ReplyDelete-Tara Quist