Date: March 2, 2017
Source: University of Southern
Denmark
All mammals can hear -- but it is
not an ability that is fully developed at birth. Some mammals like humans take
years to fully develop their hearing abilities, but for a newborn harbor
porpoise it takes less than 30 hours. This is the fastest in any studied
mammal.
It takes less than 30 hours for a
newborn harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) to develop full hearing abilities.
This is faster than any other mammals studied.
Hearing is the most important of
the senses for a porpoise, both for adults and calves, so it is logical that a
newborn calf spends energy on fine tuning and optimizing this sense as fast as
possible, says biologist Magnus Wahlberg, University of Southern Denmark.
Together with colleagues Lara
Delgado-García from SDU and Jakob Højer Kristensen from the research and
experience center Fjord&Bælt in Kerteminde, Denmark, he has published a
study in Journal of Comparative Physiology A.
Rabbits need months to develop
full hearing
Mammals are not born with fully
developed hearing. It may take weeks, months or years, and land living mammals
need the most time. Guinea pigs need weeks. Cats, rabbits, minks, bats and rats
need months. And humans may need years.
A newborn porpoise calf needs a
good hearing, so that it can maintain contact with its mother and develop
echolocation skills, says Jakob Højer Kristensen.
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