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| Elephant 'secret language' clues | Elephant 'secret language' clues |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Researchers at San Diego Zoo have been studying what has been described as the "secret language" of elephants. | Researchers at San Diego Zoo have been studying what has been described as the "secret language" of elephants. |
| They have been monitoring communications between animals that cannot be heard by human ears. | They have been monitoring communications between animals that cannot be heard by human ears. |
| The elephant's trumpeting call will be familiar to most people, but the animals also emit growls. | The elephant's trumpeting call will be familiar to most people, but the animals also emit growls. |
| Their growls, however, are only partly audible; two-thirds of the call is at frequencies that are too low to be picked up by our hearing. | Their growls, however, are only partly audible; two-thirds of the call is at frequencies that are too low to be picked up by our hearing. |
| To learn more about the inaudible part of the growl, the team attached a microphone sensitive to these low frequencies and a GPS tracking system to eight of the zoo's female elephants. | To learn more about the inaudible part of the growl, the team attached a microphone sensitive to these low frequencies and a GPS tracking system to eight of the zoo's female elephants. |
| The researchers could then correlate the noises the animals were making with what they were doing. | The researchers could then correlate the noises the animals were making with what they were doing. |
| Matt Anderson, who led the project, told BBC News: "We're excited to learn of the hierarchy within the female herd and how they interact and intercede with one another." | Matt Anderson, who led the project, told BBC News: "We're excited to learn of the hierarchy within the female herd and how they interact and intercede with one another." |
| Predator warning? | Predator warning? |
| The team has already learned that pregnant females use this low frequency communication to announce to the rest of their herd that they are about to give birth. | The team has already learned that pregnant females use this low frequency communication to announce to the rest of their herd that they are about to give birth. |
| Only two-thirds of an elephant's growl is audible to humans | Only two-thirds of an elephant's growl is audible to humans |
| "We've seen that after their long gestation of over two years, in the last 12 days we see a manipulation of the low part of the growl, the low part that we can't hear. | "We've seen that after their long gestation of over two years, in the last 12 days we see a manipulation of the low part of the growl, the low part that we can't hear. |
| "This we believe is to announce to the rest of the herd that the baby is imminent," said Dr Anderson. | "This we believe is to announce to the rest of the herd that the baby is imminent," said Dr Anderson. |
| The researchers believe that this also warns the elephants to look out for predators. | The researchers believe that this also warns the elephants to look out for predators. |
| "You may think that a baby calf of about 300 pounds would not be as open to predation as other species," he says. "But packs of hyenas are a big threat in the wild." | "You may think that a baby calf of about 300 pounds would not be as open to predation as other species," he says. "But packs of hyenas are a big threat in the wild." |
| Dr Anderson and his team are continuing to analyse data in order to learn more about this secret elephant language. | Dr Anderson and his team are continuing to analyse data in order to learn more about this secret elephant language. |