How Animals Communicate: We all know that most animals cant talk, but did you know that they often have complex methods of communicating that we only partially understand? The Key deer, the smallest subspecies of white-tailed deer, communicates with its tail just like its northern cousins. Scientists havent fully figured out all the uses for flashing the white tail but some of the thoughts are 1) helps signal danger, 2) let the predator know theyve been seen, 3) help the herd stick together and 4) possibly startle a predator. Since we cant ask them directly, well be left with trying to prove these hypotheses. And Key deer do talk to each other too. If you get close you may hear a low nasal sound they make. Also, fawns will bleat when lost or trying to locate their mothers. So the next time you see the upturned tail of a white-tailed deer, know that its communicating, in a language we havent fully deciphered yet. Photo credit: Kristie Killam USFWS
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 02:11:44 +0000
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