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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Animal "Speech" Project Aims to Decode Critter Communication


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Do you hear what I hear?

A joint project among several universities and Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park aims to crack the code of animal communication. The so-called Dr. Dolittle Project has already revealed, for example, that African elephants like this juvenile are more likely to "talk" to a best friend than others in their herd.

The researchers hope that analyzing more creatures' clucks, rumbles, and whistles will give humans a better understanding of animal behavior and allow scientists to improve care for wild and captive populations.

Photograph by Chris Johns