We were taught to speak since the day we were born, and often master it in a few years, and maybe that's the reason we have taken ‘talking’ for granted, but what about animals? How do they communicate with each other ? Do they also have a language of their own? Don't such questions ever occur to you? We bet Yes!! So today we will try our best to answer such questions. So let’s dive right in.
Let's start with the most common pet animal in the world, dogs (ha! suck it cats). Most people assume that a dog's bark is a language, but that’s not entirely true. While barking is a type of communication, however it's usually the tone and pitch of the bark that conveys a meaning. In communication among dogs, body language is a much more important aspect. It's a common perception that a dog wags its tail when it's happy, and that's true, but tail wagging is also used to convey other messages, commonly excitement, no aggression and even insecurity. Dogs also use their ears and their stance for communication. These are some signs visible to the human eye but that's not all. Dogs communicate with each other in several other ways, a prominent one being scent. Dogs have a special scent organ known as the Jacoson’s organ, using which they can detect a lot about the other dog, from gender to identification, this is why dogs commonly greet each other by sniffing their muzzles and genital areas (which is kinda gross, if you ask me). That’s enough about dogs for now, so let’s move on.
Dogs are pet animals who live in a house and usually meet other dogs in a controlled environment, but what about wild animals, who have to survive in a much harsher environment. So let’s talk about them now!! Let's discuss cats now, nah I’m not talking about those docile house cats, now we are gonna learn about the language of… wait for it… LIONS! Lions are always found in groups, called prides. A typical pride consists of male, female and baby lions led by an adult male lion. Quite like dogs, lions also don’t have a set language, one of the most audible forms of communication among lions is their roar. Did you know that only four big cats can roar? The roar of a lion can mean a lot of different things. It can be use to scare off predators, warn the pride of potential dangers, mark their territory even as a show of power. Lions greet each by head rubbing, or nuzzling and also communicate using purrs, snarls, meows and hissing. Their vocalizations also vary in intensity and pitch.
I can go on about animals forever, but for now, this is it. Don’t worry, I will be back next week with a lot more animals, from whales to honeybees and ants. So keep up with me right here at thestrangescience.com .
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