Spotted hyenas are famous for their characteristic laugh, but usually a hyena giggle bout is anything but happy. Giggles are produced by hyenas that are in a high state of excitement; we usually hear giggles from individuals directly after they have been aggressed on by a higher ranking animal. While we do not yet know all of the ways hyenas use giggles to communicate, we do know that an individual giggle can communicate the age, sex, and social rank of the giggler (Mathevon et al. 2010).
This is a very short nervous, high pitched giggle from Alice Paul, a Happy Zebra den cub, after she was aggressed on by the other cubs at the den.
Mathevon N, Koralek A, Weldele M, Glickman SE, Theunissen FE: What the hyena's laugh tells: Sex, age, dominance and individual signature in the giggling call of Crocuta crocuta.
BMC Ecol 2010, 10:9.
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1 comment:
That sounds almost like monkeys or baboons. It's amazing the variety of sounds they can make.
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