The Elephants' Secret Voices
Elephants often seem to know where faraway herds are, without making a sound. In 1984, a researcher felt a throbbing in the air and found out why.
What was reported
Standing near the elephant enclosure of a zoo in Portland, Oregon, the biologist Katy Payne noticed a faint throbbing in the air, like the feeling of a pipe organ's lowest note, though she couldn't hear anything. She wondered if the elephants were calling.
Recordings showed they were: elephants make rumbles far below the range of human hearing, infrasound, that can travel for kilometres. Studies at Amboseli, in Kenya, showed herds use them to keep in touch, find mates and warn of danger.
Explanations offered
Low sounds travel further than high ones, especially at dawn and dusk when the air is still. Elephants may also pick up the vibrations through their feet. It explained how scattered herds seemed to act together.
- When
- Discovered in 1984
- Where
- Amboseli, Kajiado, Kenya
- Witnesses
- Researchers in zoos and in Kenya
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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