Chapter 1 HUMMING GIRAFFES Communicating with one another helps animals survive It also makes them fascinating to study For instance scientists were surprised to learn that giraffes hum Researchers recorded giraffes at night in three zoos These recordings revealed that the giraffes were humming This surprised the scientists and zookeepers who usually aren’t in the giraffe barn at night Giraffes are fairly quiet animals What types of sounds do they make 4 44
Coughing Hissing and Growling Giraffes make only a few sounds They are more vocal during mating season Males make a coughing sound to attract females The coughing lets females know the males are near Giraffes also make hissing and growling sounds A mother giraffe might hiss or make a low growl to keep her baby close to her Giraffes also hiss or growl to warn other giraffes of danger Giraffes also communicate by rubbing their necks and leaning against one another This is known as necking 5
A Pain in the Neck For a long time scientists believed giraffes were quiet because of their necks Researchers thought a giraffe’s long neck probably made it hard for the animal to make most vocal sounds An adult giraffe’s neck is about 6 feet 1 8 meters long Air has to travel a long way to get from a giraffe’s lungs to its mouth It takes a lot of effort to push air that far A long neck can also allow a giraffe to feed from high branches 6
High and Low But scientists knew giraffes live in organized social groups Other social animals such as elephants communicate within their groups all the time So researchers wondered how giraffes were communicating if they weren’t making many sounds They thought giraffes might use sounds that were too low-pitched for humans to hear They also thought giraffes might rely on visual signals Giraffes have good eyesight Their eyesight and their long necks make it possible for them to see one another over trees and when they’re far apart These giraffes can easily see one another while they feed 7
