Thursday, September 20, 2007

Do giraffe talk?

Do giraffe talk? - Bio-acoustician, Elizabeth von
Muggenthaler would answer yes

more precisely, she believes that they communicate
such things as warning and location; information that
has survival value

further, they communicate with sounds in a manner
that is consistent with their anatomy

at her website, animalvoice.com, von Muggenthaler
defines bio-acoustics as a,

branch of science concerned with the production
of sound and its effects on living systems. In
particular, animal communication, deals with the
production, meanings (animal linguistics and
cognition), and effects of sounds generated by
animals. There are different ways animals commun-
icate, including scent (pheromones) and by body
language. However the most effective type of
communication for most species is sound.

in the case of the giraffe, von Muggenthaler states,

we believe that giraffe are forcing large volumes
of air out their long, long trachea and out a small
opening which is actually their larynx and that is
creating the sound

as a result of the giraffe’s anatomy, these sounds
have frequencies that fall below the range of human
hearing

these low-pitched sounds are called infrasounds;
and as such, they can travel farther through the air
and earth than can higher pitched sounds audible
to humans

this makes possible long-distance communication,
of several miles; an ability with survival value for
animals, like the giraffe, that wander vast plains.
Posted by Ajay :: 5:44 PM :: 0 comments

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