Regular readers of our blog know that we’re extremely interested in how animals communicate. After all, this is the origin of language.
Researchers focusing on the African striped mouse and how it communicates have demonstrated that these cute little animals, which communicate with high-pitched squeaks that human ears can’t hear, have specific vocalisations, depending on which ‘nest bush’ they live in; a sort of mouse dialect. This means that if they hear a warning signal, for example, they know if it’s coming from one of their neighbours, or from a different group, and they respond very differently, depending on the circumstance.
Other species, even those not generally considered to be more complex thinkers, often communicate using more complex vocalisations than was formerly believed, often with recognisable patterns. These patterns mean that it may be possible to encode how they are communicating, and possibly even create a lexicon that would allow humans – with the help of noise-imitating technology – to speak to them.
What will be the practical implications of this? And are there any ethical considerations to bear in mind? We’ll certainly be watching to see what happens next!
Photo Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/gray-mouse-on-brown-wooden-surface-QNaBO0oHeyo
