Young Southern white rhinos may produce four distinct, context-dependent calls

Small sample of calves also suggests call development might be innate

Date:  March 7, 2018

Source:  PLOS

Summary:

Young Southern white rhinos may produce four distinct calls in differing behavioral contexts, according to a new study.

Young Southern white rhinos may produce four distinct calls in differing behavioral contexts, according to a study published March 7, 2018 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Sabrina Linn and Marina Scheumann from the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover and Serengeti-Park Hodenhagen, Germany, and colleagues.

Describing species' vocal repertoires can provide insights into how they communicate. Little is known about how young Southern white rhinos vocalize, and how their calls compare to those of adult rhinos. The authors of the present study characterized vocalizations in a small sample of rhino calves, aged between one month and four years old, at three zoos in Germany. They used audio and video to record the calls of seven calves reared by their mothers as well as one hand-reared calf.

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