Elephants make several sounds when communicating, and are famous for their trumpet calls made by blowing through its nostrils.
Trumpeting is often made when an elephant is excited or startled.
Researchers have known for years that elephants use their trunks to interact socially. However, they’ve more recently discovered that elephants use low-frequency verbal communication as well.
These low frequency sounds can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant’s feet and trunk, which can sense the resonant vibrations.
To listen attentively, members of the herd will often lay their trunks on the ground, and lift one front leg off the ground.
Researchers at Cornell University took recordings of elephant sounds and raised them to frequencies that can be heard by the human ear.
They discovered that herds of elephants also sing to each other, and although the research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries.
These include how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over long distances.
Sing Low, Sweet Pachyderm.
