my daughter,katie,8,asks wether animals relate to each other by the sounds they emit?our equivelant of talking

Answer 1

Sound communication is important to animals, but humans are the only animal that use it as the major means of getting our point across, Most other animals use sound as a secondary, or tertiary means of communication. Body language is the most emotion form of communication in the animal world. It has been found that dolphins have names that are used by other dolphins to call on particular dolphins. They are the only other species known to man that does this. Another thing that's really interesting is that chickadees (small bird) have a elaborate predator warning call system. They can communicate the size, type and proximity of a predator. the interesting thing is that this call is not just understood by other chickadees, but by squirrels, chipmunks, and other birds in the area.
For the most part animals don't just sit around and talk like we do, their noises usually have a purpose. Every sound that they make can give away their position to a predator. One example that doesn't fit this mold is birds in the morning, they sing up a storm just before sunrise. Scientists are still not entirely sure why they do this. I personally believe that they are gearing up for the day ahead, warming up, and enjoying singing in a large group. anyone who has played an instrument in a band knows what I mean, it feels good to be part of something.

Answer 2

The zoologist above has given a good answer, so I won't really go into detail, I just want to add that animal communication is extremely varied, including more than just sounds, scents and body language. I'd suggest you find some documentary where cuttlefish communicate by changing their skin colours and patterns - I've seen that kind of "colour talk" once (maybe on National Geographic or Discovery Channel, I don't remember but it doesn't really matter) and it was truly amazing; a great thing to watch for a 8-year-old, I guess.

And if you want to know more (maybe to enrich the education of Katie ;) ) about animal communication/intelligence in general, I'd very much recommend the book 'Wild Minds - What Animals Really Think' by Marc D. Hauser.

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@The zoologist:
As for birds, I faintly remember having met a paper on that, which stated that larger-eyed birds sing earlier, and proposed a hypothesis (something like) that singing at dawn is to establish the bird's territory before there's enough light to go feeding, so that all the neighbours know early in the morning that that patch of land is occupied, and Mr Robin or Blackbird or Lark doesn't have to waste the precious hours of daylight declaring his ownership. As our local blackbirds (and swallows and in fact all songbirds) on the outskirts of Budapest start the show as early as 3 a.m. in the summer, there might be something to it... why wake up so early when you can enjoy singing any other time of day if it has no practical advantage? And why doesn't a single songbird trigger the same wonderful choir any other time of day?
(Well, I might have a BSc in Zoology in about 4 years, so maybe I'll just go and find out? :)

Answer 3

YES ANIMALS DO TALK & THEY WAY OF TALKING IS BY :-
(1) EXPRESIING WITH THE LOUDNESS AND PITCH OF THEIR VOICE
i.e by altering their mode of voice and movements gestures
(2) PHEROMONES - certain hormones by which they transfer their message (they have scent or odour of some kind ) ex dogs urinate and tell their terroties ,ants walk in line due to this , musk deer releases some kind of scent
MAYBE OTHER WAYS TOO BUT THAT ONLY A ANIMAL CAN TELL

Answer 4

I would guess so, Just like the different types of animals would inturperate the other species as a ( For lack of a better term) Forigner! English to japanese or similar! Thats my theory anyway.

Answer 5

Of course they do. The level of communication and perceived understanding is down to there level in the hierarchy of things. Dolphins have pretty good communication. So do humans, being the highest level of communications. We are animals after all.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

Absolutely. Do you have pets? If a dog growls at you, you know you are being threatened, so do other dogs. A female cat in season will call out to the male cats in the district to let them know she is looking for a mate. A mother cat will call to her kittens using a short half meiow, her kittens will gather round her in response.

Answer 8

animals communicate with one another with the sound they make,they scent they produce and by the marking they leave behind.

Answer 9

of course they do. whales have the highest level of communication of all animals. they actually talk to each other. other animals only comminicate mood or intent.

Answer 10

Yes and by scent and body language too.