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Animals Make a Variety of Crazy & Unique Sounds

Like humans, there are a variety of reasons other animals make sounds. They may call to attract a mate, warn of danger, or display dominance. However, unlike humans, not all animals possess vocal folds (aka vocal cords) that can be used to make noise. For example, fish lack these particular structures. This does not stop them from communicating though! Instead, they make use of sound waves.

Sound is carried as waves through mediums such as air or water. These waves cause the medium to vibrate. When these vibrations are perceived by our human eardrums, our brains interpret them as sounds. Although fish lack vocal folds, they can create vibrations in other ways. Fish may rub their teeth together, use muscles connected to their swim bladders, or even release fart bubbles to generate sounds for other underwater animals to perceive.

On the other end of the spectrum, koalas have two sets of vocal folds! This enables these Australian-dwelling marsupials to vocalize very loudly. Male koalas can utilize this skill by bellowing to attract female koalas or to claim their territory. Rather than bellowing, female koalas screech. They do this when they are being pursued by an unwanted mate, or when they are signaling their distress.

While koalas’ loud bellows, and even fish bubbles, are audible to the human ear, other animals call in ways that humans are unable to hear. The ultrasound signals emitted by bats for echolocation are too high-pitched for humans to hear. Ultrasound frequencies refer to sounds above 20,000 Hertz. Although bats are not blind (despite popular misconceptions), echolocation can provide them with more information about their surroundings. They may use this information to hunt or navigate.

Animals may use sound frequencies that are too low for human ears to hear as well. These sounds, known as “infrasound” are below 20 Hertz. Whale species communicate using infrasound signals. These majestic creatures have a highly evolved way of communicating and may vocalize for many reasons.

Human vocal folds operate with other body structures, including the ribs and diaphragm, allowing us to generate sounds. Despite having vocal folds, frogs lack these structures. However, this does not stop them from calling all night! Instead, they fill their lungs by lowering the floor of their mouth and inhaling through their nostrils. They then cut airflow out of their nostrils and raise their mouth floor. This pushes the air into their lungs. The frog repeats this action until their lungs are filled. In some species of frogs, a structure called a vocal sac helps streamline the process. This structure allows the frog to recycle air rather than having to repeat the process of filling their lungs. Additionally, a frog’s vocal sac can help make the frog’s calls louder.

Birds, such as the lyrebird, actually have an extra vocal structure called the syrinx. The syrinx helps birds to produce their songs. In lyrebirds, muscles around the syrinx allow these birds not only to produce their own calls but also to mimic other sounds. Lyrebirds not only can mimic other bird songs but also human and machine noises!

Another animal who can produce some wild sounds is the cicada. Some cicada species produce sounds of up to 100 decibels and cicadas are the loudest insects in the world! Each species of cicada has its own call which they use to attract mates and warn off predators. To emit their sounds, cicadas use timbals. These are membranes located in their abdomens. The sounds produced by the timbals are then made louder thanks to air sacs in the cicada’s abdomens.

The noises produced by the animal kingdom vary widely. Learning about these noises is a good reminder that other animals’ perceptions of the world can differ widely from humans. They may rely heavily on other senses, or even be able to distinguish sounds or smells which are hidden from humans.

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