JULY 9,
2019
Goats can
probably distinguish subtle emotional changes in the calls of other goats,
according to a new study led by Queen Mary University of London.
The
researchers measured behavioural and physiological changes in goats to
determine if they can differentiate between calls linked to positive and
negative emotions.
They
found that when the emotion of a call changed, the likeliness of the goats to
look towards the source of the sound also changed suggesting that they can
distinguish the emotional content
of calls of another goat.
The
study, published in the journal Frontiers in Zoology, also shows
that the goats' heart-rate variability—the variation in time between each
heartbeat—was greater when positive calls were played compared to when negative
calls were played.
Together,
these results provide the first strong evidence that goats are not only able to
distinguish call variants based on the emotion that they convey, but also that
their own emotions are potentially affected.
The study
was carried out in collaboration with the University of Roehampton, ETH Zurich
and University of Turin.
Luigi
Baciadonna, lead author of the study from Queen Mary University of London,
said: "Despite its evolutionary importance, social communication of
emotions in non-human animals is still not well understood. Our results suggest
that non-human animals are not only attentive, but might also be sensitive to
the emotional states of other individuals."
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