Elephant Voices

Category: 1. General News, Elephant Sounds | Date: May 30 2008 | By: elephantvoices

Elephants use a variety of techniques when they are confronted by predators. They may try intimidation tactics, including highly effective (and noisy) mobbing, or they may bunch together and take evasive action. Although much has been said about the complex defensive behaviour of elephants, very little has been written about the variety of sounds they produce in these situations, which may include a variety of rumbles, snorts, trumpets, and roars. Our observations indicate that their particular response to predators is communicated, in part, via fine-tuned signaling.When a family group is exposed to an unusual or disturbing situation, the elephants usually freeze (hold stock-still) and listen to first assess how dangerous the situation is. This behavior may follow a sharp snort or snort-rumble followed by soft, medium length rumbles by one or more individuals. As the elephants call they continue to stand alert, listening and looking.

Anthing that alarms an elephant may elicit this kind of behavior and calling pattern. For instance, elephants may call after being frightened by an unintended noise in the research vehicle, a helicopter passing overhead, the discovery of Maasai herdsmen in the area, or the roaring sounds of lions. Elephants may also give similar sounding calling in the context of a new situation, such as the arrival of a known research vehicle. And this form of soft rumbling may also be heard when a disturbing event occurs in the family, such as aggression directed at a family member. It seems as if the elephants use these calls to draw attention to, or comment upon, an unusual or disturbing event.

Here are two examples:

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The EBs are frightened by a herd of running buffalo; they run away and then stop at a safe distance; Eudora rumbles. Note that the louder sounds at the end are made by the buffaloes.

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A young male persistently follows Eudora as if he thinks that she is in estrus. Erin is annoyed by his behavior and chases him away, twice. Elspeth (Eudora’s daughter) and then Eudora comment upon her action.

Have a great weekend!

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Category: 1. General News, Support Appeals | Date: May 26 2008 | By: elephantvoices

We would like to inform all visitors to our blog that we will be in California on a fundraising trip later this year. We plan to be in the San Francisco from 7 to 14 November and in Los Angeles 14 - 20 November. We are already busy planning various events. If you are from California we would certainly be grateful for ideas or input regarding our visit - and you can also send an email to us if you want to be invited to any of the events being arranged.

Our research on elephant cognition and communication, our scientific and popular publications, our advocacy work for elephants, our website updates are all dependent on individuals like you. Our blog is just a tiny window into the work we do and we encourage you to visit our website, www.ElephantVoices.org to get a better picture. To continue to protect elephants we need your support.

Best wishes, Petter and Joyce

Tags: "elephant welfare", 7. Conservation, elephants, elephantvoices

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Category: 1. General News, Elephant Sounds | Date: May 21 2008 | By: elephantvoices

Hi all,

I apologize that we have been so quiet for so long.  We are working on a major update for our website as well as on several other projects with deadlines, and these activities have limited our ability to focus on our blog. In addition we have had family visiting from around the world.

The update on our website will include a long awaited database of elephant calls and we have much to do to prepare the sounds and text for the database. I thought that I could bring you along with me as I work – sharing examples of the calls as I prepare the files. Elephant rumbles are very low frequency calls and I originally saved individual calls at a low sample rate. While this is perfect for analysis, to make the MP3 files necessary for the database and for sharing with you I need to go back the original recordings. This is quite a time consuming job – but it must be done! On WildlifeDirect I am restricted for the time being to a maximum file size of 300 KB – and that really limits what we can share with you – but I will do my best. Let me start by introducing you to some different overall call types before I get into the calls African elephants produce in specific behavioral contexts.

Listen to the different call types. Notice that elephants sometimes combine call types - as for instance a bark and a rumble, or a rumble and a roar:

Rumble

Rev

Roar

Cry

Bark

Grunt

Husky-cry

Harmonic-play-trumpet

Nasal-play-trumpet

Snort

Then there are learned calls which I will come back to later.

4 responses so far

Category: 1. General News, 6. Behavior, Elephant Sounds, Elephant Video | Date: May 07 2008 | By: admin

Hi all,

We apologise for the silence. It has been a very busy time for us. There has been so much to follow up on with the improvements we are planning on our website and I have been working on a couple of papers on elephant cognitive behavior among other tasks.

Before moving on to another topic I had wanted to come back to a comment that I made in one of our recent postings about there being subtle and not so subtle differences in Asian and African elephant behavior. I want to mention one of the “not so subtle” differences in this posting. Both species display extraordinary teamwork, especially when defending their families, but the specific tactics may be different.

I have been charged by African elephants many times and I have even had my car tusked by an African elephant or two. I have had elephants explore my car with their feet (once even stepping on the front bumper so that the car was shaking) but I have never had an African elephant kick the car with its front feet!

When Petter and I were taken around Sri Lanka by Lalith Seneviratne we had the good fortune to visit Minneriya N.P., which was a highlight from many perspectives. While we were there we met a very kali (fierce in Kiswahili) adult female who just wanted to get rid of everyone.

To be honest, the other elephants she was with didn’t pay her too much attention, but the tourists did. She had cars fleeing in all directions! We weren’t so easily frightened by her, though. So she threatened us repeatedly, rumbling, flapping her ears vigourously, and thumping the ground with her trunk. And finally she proceeded to kick Lalith’s car a couple of times - breaking the side light. Only then did the other adult female in her group come to join her. I had the feeling at the time that she was unusually disturbed and wondered what experiences with people had led her to behave in this way.

In the MP3 file you can hear her kicking the car and Lalith trying to get her to back off against a background of excited squeaking, rumbling and screaming sounds and her continual ear flapping.

Ester of Sweetwaters, whom Paula will remember, had tusks……

Download link

We have had some problems with our media files since WD had a serious hick-up some time ago - hopefully the link above works for you. And because of changes on WD our previous sound-links are not working. We will look into this as soon as possible.

Tags: 1019, 1020, 1025, 1029, 6

5 responses so far