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Vocalizations and associated behaviour of Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) calves

Behaviour, ISSN: 1568-539X, Vol: 149, Issue: 6, Page: 575-599
2012
  • 11
    Citations
  • 0
    Usage
  • 57
    Captures
  • 0
    Mentions
  • 0
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

  • Citations
    11
    • Citation Indexes
      11
  • Captures
    57

Article Description

The present study describes the acoustic structure and associated behavioural contexts of vocalizations of Asian elephant calves. Three hundred twenty-seven vocalizations of six calves aged between 6 and 27 months were recorded at the Emmen and the Cologne zoo. Based on temporal and structural characteristics including nonlinear phenomena, we structurally distinguished four call types, the rumble, the roar, the chirp and the trumpet. Most vocalizations were uttered during all forms of play behaviour, with chirps and trumpets dominating here. Rumbles were mainly recorded in combination with roars; the latter were highly chaotic in structure and associated with higher arousal contexts (e.g., being separated from the mother). These first insights into the vocal behaviour of Asian elephant calves reveal that calf vocalizations clearly differ in acoustic structure and application from those of adults and older juveniles. This highlights the importance of investigating the vocal ontogeny of elephants as well as other species having a long adolescence and developmental period.

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