How do giraffes speak without vocal cords?

Giraffes do have a larynx (voice box), but perhaps they couldn’t produce sufficient airflow through their 13-foot long (4 meter) trachea to vibrate their vocal folds and make noises. The researchers suspected the reason no one heard giraffe communication was because the sound frequency was too low for humans to hear.

How do giraffes communicate?

Humans cannot hear most of the communication between giraffes because they communicate infrasonically, with moans and grunts too low for humans to hear. Mother giraffes sometimes use whistles to warn or call their young. Other ways giraffes communicate are with their eyes and by touching other giraffes in the herd.

Do giraffes have a voice box?

For decades it’s been a simple answer: nothing, except for a snort or grunt every now and then. Though giraffes have a voice box, one line of thought was that due to their long necks it was too difficult for the creatures to generate the airflow needed to “vibrate their vocal folds.”

Is it true that giraffes can’t make a sound?

It’s long been assumed that unlike other animals, giraffes are largely silent beasts. They don’t oink, moo or roar. But new research suggests perhaps giraffes do have a distinct sound: They hum. Beyond the occasional snort or grunt, the researchers recorded humming sounds that the giraffes made only at night.

What is the only animal without vocal cords?

Giraffes have no vocal cords.

What animal has vocal cords?

Reptiles, amphibians, and mammals all have a larynx, a voice box at the top of the throat that protects the airways. Folds of tissue there—the vocal cords—can also vibrate to enable humans to talk, pigs to grunt, and lions to roar. Birds have larynxes, too.

What animal does not have vocal chords?

Why do giraffes communicate to each other?

Thus, it’s important that giraffes are able to communicate. In the wild, a giraffe can direct other members’ attention to a potential danger; they stop whatever it is they’re doing, and, in unison, focus on their environment! This form of communication (without sound) is called non-verbal communication.

Do giraffes hiccup?

Note, it is true that giraffe very occasionally make a short snort or grunt, possibly when threatened. Yet this sound is more like a human hiccup or burp, an involuntary sound that can pop out when the body is shocked.