Provoke, warn, flirt, navigate, hunt - The Fascinating World of Sounds in Nature HD

Wherever you are you can almost always hear animals, but the reasons how and why they make their sounds are as diverse as the noises themselves, the start of a fascinating story of adaption. There are many ways animals use sound. Lion roars evoke the African bush, but by straining their throats, lions can make sounds that carry for miles and warn others of their territorial boundaries. Other animals use sound for seasonal challenges, like red deer bellowing during their rut, seeing if any opponents are bold enough to take them on and fight. Frogs croak to sing love songs to each other, kick-starting mass spawning events. Elephants use low frequency sounds that literally shake the other, to keep their extended families connected even when they are many miles apart. They hear these thunderous vibrations not only with their giant ears, but through their feet. In the dense jungle sound is vital where it’s hard to be seen. Howler monkeys are the loudest residents and kick up a raucous every morning to announce their patch of forest and unite the clan. Some singers are true artists. Birds especially. But although we love their sweet sounds, the calls are in fact mini way cries from territorial owners. Birds have unique voices and can use sound to find each other in a crowd. Never more important than when a parent guillemot needs to find its chick in a huge, noisy flock where everyone looks the same. Birds also use sounds to attract a mate – either by singing their own songs, or in the case of the stunning lyre bird, by mimicking the songs of others to put together an enormous repertoire. There are even animals that use sounds to ‘see’. Both bats and dolphins make high frequency sounds and listen to the returning echoes bouncing off any objects in their path to navigate and locate their prey. Dolphins can even use intense bursts of sound to stun fish making them easier to catch. Wolves are the epitome of wildness, considered by some to be fierce and dangerous, they actually share close and loyal family bonds and they use sound, their haunting howls, to bring together and consolidate their pack. Their sounds highlighting their more tender side. Whether they are bellowing a challenge, shouting a warning, flirting, navigating or even hunting with their voices, the soundtrack of nature brings our world to life. We often think we are special because of our desire to communicate. We see language as a human trait. But when you listen, animals have a lot to say.