Were it not for human activity in sub-Saharan Africa, spotted hyenas would occupy most of the plains there. As it stands, they are the most common carnivores in the Serengeti, with an unfounded reputation as a scavenger. Hyenas actually kill most of their prey, often in cooperative hunts. Their laugh has nothing to do with a good time, but instead indicates that an individual is feeling distressed or submissive. For example, a hyena might giggle at a kill site while waiting its turn to eat and being chased off by higher-ranking members of its clan. The cubs in the study didn't hear much giggling, but instead received an earful of sweet-sounding groans. Kay Holekamp, a Michigan State University zoologist and a leading expert on hyenas, told Discovery News that she too has heard adult hyenas groaning at cubs. She said "in my experience with wild hyenas, I would describe the groan as a 'come-hither, I won't hurt you' vocalization, signaling friendly intent, especially to the young cubs to whom these calls are often directed." She believes the groans may help hyena youngsters to form social relationships by distinguishing friendly from unfriendly members of their group. In the future, Holekamp said "it would be very useful to know whether groans are individually distinctive, whether cubs can discriminate the groans of their mothers from the groans of other adult females, and whether the groans emitted by a particular hyena differ when directed at one's own versus someone else's cubs." The Berkeley team also hopes to further study noises produced by the cubs themselves, since the babies have their own baby talk that includes soft cooing sounds. Related Links: Jennifer Viegas' Blog: Born Animal Learning How to Keep a Hyena Happy |
advertisement
Download Animal News At Bottom!
|
-
our sites
-
video
mobile
-
shop
-
stay connected
-
corporate
