The Secret 'Song' Of The Savanna: 7 Surprising Noises The Giraffe Actually Makes

For centuries, the giraffe, with its towering height and graceful stride, was known as the 'silent giant' of the African savanna. This long-held belief suggested that, unlike other megafauna, the world’s tallest land animal was practically mute, communicating only through non-vocal means. However, groundbreaking scientific research, particularly from a 2015 study, has definitively shattered this myth, revealing a surprisingly complex and hidden world of giraffe vocalizations that include deep, sustained, and mysterious low-frequency sounds.

As of , the most fascinating and current discovery about what noise a giraffe makes revolves around a specific, continuous sound: a nocturnal hum. This is not a simple snort or grunt, but a deliberate, sustained vocalization that researchers believe could be a key form of communication, perhaps used to maintain group cohesion or signal their presence to others in the dark. The acoustic landscape of the savanna is far more complex than we once thought, and the giraffe’s 'voice' is finally being heard.

The Myth of the 'Silent Giant' and the Nocturnal Discovery

The idea that giraffes were virtually silent animals persisted for so long primarily because their vocalizations are often difficult for the human ear to detect. Their long necks, which house a trachea that can be up to 10 feet long in an adult male, led some scientists to speculate that the sheer length made producing a loud, audible sound challenging.

• 7 Shocking Things Jessica Capshaw Revealed About Growing Up With Steven Spielberg As Her Stepfather 892ho

The laryngeal nerve, which connects the brain to the voice box (larynx), is one of the longest nerves in the animal kingdom due to the giraffe's anatomy, which further fueled the speculation that vocal cord vibration was rare or ineffective.

The Groundbreaking 2015 Humming Revelation

The biggest breakthrough in understanding what noise a giraffe makes came from a team of researchers at the University of Vienna. They spent eight years recording nearly 1,000 hours of audio from giraffes in three European zoos (Berlin, Copenhagen, and Vienna). The recordings revealed a consistent, low-frequency sound—a hum—that the giraffes produced predominantly, and often exclusively, at night.

• Sound Type: Sustained, frequency-modulating hum.
• Frequency: Approximately 92 Hz (Hertz), which is a low-frequency sound.
• Timing: Almost always between sunset and sunrise, with the longest hums occurring around midnight.
• Purpose (Hypothesized): Researchers speculate the humming serves as a form of communication to keep the group together when visibility is low, or perhaps as a subtle signal of unease or a 'good night' call.

This nighttime humming is a key piece of evidence that giraffes are not, in fact, silent, but rather communicate in ways that are subtle and often below the threshold of human perception in the noisy environment of the savanna.

• The Enduring Legacy Of Haylor 5 Shocking Facts About Harry Styles And Taylor Swifts Relationship 10 Years Later Sf662

The Daytime 'Vocabulary': Grunts, Snorts, and Calves' Bleats

While the nocturnal hum is the most intriguing discovery, giraffes also employ a range of other, more recognizable vocalizations during the day, particularly when they are alarmed, threatened, or interacting with their young. These sounds are generally short, sharp, and serve as immediate warning or contact calls.

1. Grunts and Snorts: The Warning Signals

The most commonly observed daytime sounds are grunts and snorts. These are typically associated with a state of arousal or alarm.

• Snorts: A sharp, sudden burst of air, often used as a warning signal when a predator, such as a lion or hyena, is nearby, or when they feel threatened by a human presence.
• Grunts: A low-pitched, guttural sound, often heard during social interactions, or when a giraffe is mildly agitated or sensing danger.

2. Hisses and Moans: Less Common Expressions

Giraffes have also been observed to produce hissing and moaning sounds, though these are less frequent and often tied to specific contexts.

• The Surprise Vegas Wedding And Shared Grief 5 Shocking Details Of John Schneider And Dee Dee Sorvinos Whirlwind Romance Ohirf

• Hisses: Can be a defensive sound, often used when an individual is cornered or highly stressed.
• Moans and Grumbles: These low, sustained sounds are sometimes heard from giraffes in distress or during moments of discomfort.

3. Bleats and Crying: The Sound of a Calf

Baby giraffes, or calves, are far more vocal than their adult counterparts. They use a sound similar to a bleat or a short, plaintive cry to communicate with their mothers or to signal distress.

• Bleating: Like a sheep or goat, this sound is used by the calf to call for its mother. This is a crucial sound for mother-calf bonding and location.
• Cough/Burst Sound: Some researchers have noted a 'burst' sound that resembles a cough, which may be a unique form of communication or simply a non-vocal expulsion of air.

The Science Behind the Sound: Infrasound and Bioacoustics

To fully grasp the complexity of giraffe vocalization, one must understand the concepts of low-frequency sound and bioacoustics. The study of animal sounds, or bioacoustics, is what helped uncover the giraffe's secret life.

The Role of Infrasound

The low-frequency nature of the giraffe's nighttime hum is critical. Many of the sounds, including the hum, verge on infrasound—a frequency below 20 Hertz (Hz), which is the lower limit of human hearing.

• Infrasound Communication: Several large animals, most notably elephants and rhinoceroses, use infrasound to communicate over long distances. This is because low-frequency sound travels farther and is less obstructed by dense vegetation than high-frequency sound.
• The Giraffe Connection: While the recorded hum was slightly above the infrasound threshold (at 92 Hz), its low nature suggests that giraffes may also use true infrasound, or at least very low-frequency sounds, for long-distance communication, similar to how elephants utilize it. This would explain why they were thought to be silent for so long, as their communication was simply inaudible to us.

Vocal Cord and Larynx Function

Despite the long-standing theories about the difficulty of vocalization due to their anatomy, the fact that giraffes can produce a sustained hum proves that their vocal cords (vocal folds) are fully functional. The hum is not a mere expulsion of air but a true vocalization requiring the vibration of the laryngeal structures.

The research has shifted the focus from asking "Can giraffes make noise?" to "Why do they choose to vocalize so infrequently and only at specific times?" The answer lies in their ecological niche. As a prey animal, being silent is a significant survival advantage, especially in the presence of predators. Therefore, their vocalizations are likely reserved for essential communication: warning, distress, and maintaining contact in the dark.

Conclusion: The Future of Giraffe Communication Research

The discovery of the giraffe's nocturnal hum has fundamentally changed our understanding of this iconic species. The 'silent giant' is silent no more; it is a creature with a complex, albeit subtle, vocal repertoire. The giraffe's sounds are not the roars of a lion or the trumpeting of an elephant, but rather a sophisticated set of low-frequency grunts, snorts, and the newly discovered, continuous hum.

Future research in bioacoustics will focus on recording wild giraffe populations to confirm if the nocturnal humming behavior observed in zoos is also present in their natural savanna habitat. Understanding the specific function of the hum—whether it's a 'lullaby,' a contact call, or a subtle warning—is the next great mystery in the study of giraffe behavior. It is a powerful reminder that even the most familiar animals still hold astonishing secrets about how they live and communicate in the vast wilderness of Africa.