Perhaps Giraffes do have a distinct sound: they hum, new research suggests

It was previously believed that giraffes may make sounds that are impossible for humans to hear, similar to elephants, but the new research suggests otherwise.

Giraffes were considered to be one of the most silent species of animals on Earth, their excessive height being their only disadvantage. Beyond the occasional snort or grunt, the researchers recorded humming sounds that the giraffes made only at night. But a latest study has suggested that may be giraffes do have a distinct sound: they hum.

According to previous studies, giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis sp.) present a system that exude fission, fusion and social structure.

Scientists can not say what type of communication this may be.

Interestingly, residents in southwest England complained previous year that they were being kept up by a humming noise coming from the giraffe house at night. Giraffes produce infrasonic vocalizations that are below the level of human perception.

But after reviewing almost 1,000 hours of recordings from three different European zoos, a team from the University of Vienna in Austria has now found that giraffes do communicate vocally in our audible range, they just do it using very low frequency hums during the night.

“I was fascinated, because these signals have a very interesting sound and have a complex acoustic structure”, she told New Scientist.

“These results show that giraffes do produce vocalizations”, said the researchers.

In the past, park rangers and scientists thought that the long necks of giraffes hindered them to have adequate airflow in its trachea that measures about four meters long.

“It could be passively produced-like snoring-or produced during a dream-like state-like humans talking or dogs barking in their sleep”, said Meredith Bashaw, an animal behavior researcher, adding that it could also simply be a way for the giraffes to announce to one another, “Hey, I’m here”.