These animals are capable of choral singing. Why should you sing in a choir? In the photo there is a white wolf

Publication date: 19.08.2015

Brief description:

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Extracurricular activity.

Topic: How do animals communicate with each other?

“Comprehension of the language of animals is a dream as old as humanity itself...” K. Fabry

“The task of preserving animals requires understanding them” N. Tinbergen

Goal: to deepen students’ knowledge about animal behavior, to cultivate a love for native nature, careful attitude to the animal world.

Lesson progress:

Teacher's opening remarks:

In fairy tales, animals talk. Let us at least remember “Mowgli” by R. Kipling. In fairy tales, man himself understands the language of animals and conducts conversations with them. This reveals the age-old dream of man - to learn to understand the language of animals. The reasons for these dreams are clear: man has been in too close contact with the beast for millions of years, his dependence on the surrounding animals has been too great; After all, animals are tasty and nutritious food, they are clothing and all kinds of household items, and finally, animals are also mortal enemies.

To track and kill an animal while hunting, to avoid its deadly fangs, to make assistants out of animals by taming them - all this required a deep and subtle understanding of the behavior of animals and, in particular, the features of their sound signaling.

Today, when “there is less and less nature, and more and more environment", we somehow especially begin to feel its lack, we strive to study and understand the laws of living things.

Meanwhile, the Red Book of Nature continues to be filled. Therefore, it is natural that we want to prevent the fatal extinction of animal species and preserve them for ourselves and future generations. But as the famous naturalist-ethologist Niko Tinbergen rightly writes: “The task of preserving animals requires understanding them.” And let's add - understanding their language.

So, in fairy tales, animals talk. But how does things actually happen? All animals have voices, and sometimes quite diverse ones. Are they able to communicate with each other using these voices, transfer any information to each other? If so, what can animals “say” to each other? What do they think about themselves, about the world around them, about us people? And do they think in the sense that we understand this word?

Today a group of researchers consisting of ornithologists, zoologists, ichthyologists, and entomologists will introduce us to the answers to these and other questions. Hunters will share their observations.

Zoologists have the floor:

ZOOLOGISTS: Animal language is a complex concept and is not limited only to the sound communication channel. Animals communicate with each other using the language of smells, sounds, gestures, and colors.

Most animals have a more subtle sense of smell than humans. For example, a dog smells an odorous substance at a concentration that is a hundred and sometimes a million times less than a human. Molecules of odorous substances are delivered to the olfactory organs of aquatic animals by water.

Obviously, the language of smell is the most ancient of all languages, because it is still used by animals that appeared on Earth earlier than others.

ENTOMOLOGISTS:

Ants mark their paths with odorous substances. The smell quickly dissipates, but when many ants move along the same path, it persists throughout the working day. When heading towards the house, the ant marks the road only if it has found a rich source of food. Most ants mark the road by touching it with their abdomen.

The main purpose of the bumblebee's scent glands is to tell the bumblebees about themselves. Having quickly satisfied his hunger, the furry cavalier flies from blade to blade of grass, from bush to bush and leaves odorous marks everywhere. Then, having chosen a more comfortable place on the marked path, he waits patiently. Bumblebee, having read the odorous letter, flies the same way and eventually finds the sender.

Many vertebrates also use the language of smell. Relatively short-sighted reptiles - snakes and crocodiles - in mating season secrete odorous substances that attract individuals of the other sex. Some mammals also use them, although more often odorous marks indicate to animals of the same species that the given territory is occupied. This helps to avoid overpopulation and to develop unoccupied land more widely.

TEACHER: Can animals use the language of smell to communicate danger?

ENTOMOLOGISTS:

Some animals report danger through “chemical” means. A bee, having stung, cannot pull the sting back - after all, it is equipped with notches, and dies. But the sting remaining in the body releases a special substance that infuriates other bees, and more and more hordes of them attack the enemy. The “alarm substance” is not persistent, and a beekeeper stung by a bee can approach the hive within 10-15 minutes.

ZOOLOGISTS: Some mammals have very well developed chemical danger signals. So, in a new rat trap - a trap, rats are caught as soon as you have time to attach the bait. Several days pass: no matter what tasty bait you offer the rats, they avoid it. It turned out that when a rat dies, it secretes a droplet of liquid with an odor warning: “It’s dangerous here, don’t come close.”

The language of smell is very important for many hunting animals. The dog and its relatives find prey mainly through their sense of smell. How far a dog can smell game depends primarily on the direction and strength of the wind and the moisture of the soil.

The cops, having discovered yesterday's grouse trail in the morning, can lead you to the bird, even if it has moved more than a kilometer during this time. And if it rained at night, the dog will not be able to find the black grouse by following the trail.

All relatives of dogs have a good sense of smell: the wolf, the jackal, the fox. But cats, tigers, and leopards smell very poorly. The ungulates of the steppes have no need to hear smells from far away; in open areas, eyes, and sharp-sighted ones at that, are much more important. But you need to approach the elk and bison that live in the forest against the wind.

Perhaps as often as the language of smells, animals use the language of sounds. Sound codes are very diverse. Without exaggeration, we can say that as many animals with voices as there are on Earth, there are as many languages ​​as there are. Let's start with fish talk. A word from ichthyologists.

ICTHYOLOGISTS:

1. “Everything fell asleep for hearing in that deaf abyss...” - V.I. Zhukovsky once wrote, expressing the opinion that existed at that time about the absence of any sounds in deep sea. But the development of acoustic technology has refuted this idea. The power of sound of some sea ​​fish so great that they caused explosions of acoustic mines, which became widespread in the Second World War and were intended, naturally, to destroy enemy ships.

Thus, the proverb “dumb as a fish” was completely refuted. The mutes “speaked” in all voices, as soon as man invented hydroacoustic technology.

2. Recently, the Austrian bioacousticist Friedrich Schaller visited the Amazon and was amazed by the variety and volume of the sounds of “singing” fish. One of the pirarara catfishes living there, reaching a meter in length and weighing up to 100 kg, makes trumpet sounds similar to the roar of an elephant and can be heard at a distance of up to 100 m. These sounds are made by the catfish by pushing a mixture of water and air through tightly closed gill slits and serve , believed to repel predators.

Characteristics - main commercial fish Amazons - during spawning, with the help of a swim bladder, causing it to vibrate with muscles, a strong sound reminiscent of the noise of a motorcycle. You can imagine what is happening in the Amazon when hundreds of Haraqui males, gathered for spawning, “start up their motorcycles.”

3. Found in fish and a danger signal. The carp's danger signal is a series of crackling sounds made by the leader who has detected an enemy. A short shot is a danger signal for river perches during their hunt for fry. The spawning sounds of various fish are very diverse and “long-range”, serving males to attract females to spawning sites. (Recording of fish voices).

Thus, the writer A.I. Kuprin was not so far from the truth when he wrote: “Fishes talk to each other - every fisherman knows this. They inform each other about various dangers and human pitfalls, and an inexperienced, clumsy fisherman can ruin a happy place for a long time if he lets a fish out of his nets.”

TEACHER: We consider songbirds to be the best musicians among animals, for which reason we even keep them in cages. But it turns out there are also singing insects. A word from entomologists.

ENTOMOLOGISTS:

The “musical instruments” of insects are very diverse. The locust, for example, “plays the violin.” The role of the violin and strings is performed by the elytra, and the role of the bow is played by the hind legs with special tubercles. Place your feet on the elytra, lowering and raising alternately the right and left hind legs, and the song sounds!

In grasshoppers and crickets, the role of the bow is played not by the leg, but by one of the elytra (usually the left one), which, however, does not prevent some of them from making the strongest sounds, audible up to one and a half kilometers.

Among insect musicians there are drummers. For example, termites, having discovered danger, unanimously hit their heads on the substrate, notifying all residents of the termite mound of alarm.

Unlike many other insects, bees can make sounds different heights and different timbres. This already indicates the possibility of bees using these sound changes to transmit any information. Old beekeepers have long noticed that the bee colony in the hive buzzes differently depending on the physiological state they are in: whether it is cold, hungry, or the colony has decided to swarm. Bioacoustics research has made it possible to study the characteristic sounds made by bees in different states, in order to use this data to diagnose health bee family. If it is necessary to limit the flight of bees from the hive, for example, when treating fields with pesticides, influence the bees certain sounds and thus manages to keep them in the hive.

Thus, the study of the sound language of animals can also provide something for the practice of agriculture.

Wolves! Which of the villagers is unfamiliar with their mournful, soul-chilling howl?

ZOOLOGIST: In addition to solo and choral howls, wolves have a yelping, shrill bark, which usually ends choral “singing.” Finally, the signal for the attack is also recorded - a battle cry, apparently given by the leader of the pack. This is a terrifying sound, similar to the growl of an angry dog ​​rushing at a person to bite. With the help of their voices, wolves are able to transmit very complex information to each other: news about the approach of reindeer herds, about the appearance of people in the tundra, and in a certain place.

The fear of wolves is greatly exaggerated if you know their habits and psychology. According to his observations, wolves’ addiction to choral singing has an emotional basis, heightening the animals’ sense of belonging to the pack. In addition, it is a means of communication with other packs and stragglers.

HUNTER: They make very strange sounds, reminiscent of laughter. spotted hyenas living in South and Central Africa. This is a signal of threat or a challenge to an opponent. Occasionally, when chasing prey, hyenas bark. Adult bears are taciturn. They usually grumble quietly and make grunting sounds. Bears roar either when they are wounded or during mating fights.

TEACHER: “The poodle is the smartest dog, but don’t say that in front of the owner of the dachshund!” - “Let me disagree, the smartest ones are shepherd dogs. There’s my Rex - he understands everything, he just doesn’t say anything!” Such quite reasonable conversations about dogs’ intelligence and their ability to understand human speech can often be heard among dog owners.

ZOOLOGIST: A dog’s ability to understand command words and perform complex actions based on them is known to everyone. Of course, gestures and feelings mean a lot that the dog understands you and what you want from it. Dogs are very sensitive to changes in voice strength and pitch. It turns out that the auditory mechanisms for distinguishing speech sounds in dogs are exactly the same as in humans. But highly developed specialized speech centers have not been found in the dog’s brain, as well as in the brains of other animals. That is why they are not able to understand the meaning of coherent human speech in such a volume and in such depth as it is given to a person. But nevertheless it has been noticed, and this is quite fair, that dogs, like children early age react to the emotional intonation of a person’s voice: it can be affectionate or angry. This intonation undoubtedly helps dogs perceive the meaning of what is being said. That is why experienced trainers advise dog owners, when teaching them various commands (“sit”, “lie down”), to pronounce these words not with the same, but with different intonations. Dogs also have phonemic hearing, that is, the ability to distinguish speech sounds based on the same characteristics as humans. Therefore, dogs also distinguish words, no matter with what intonation they are spoken.

TEACHER: “I sing - therefore I exist” - this is how the American scientist J. Cherfaz began one of his recently published scientific articles about birds, thereby emphasizing the extremely important biological significance sound signals in the life of a bird. A word for ornithologists.

Thus, a female bird will unmistakably distinguish the singing of her spouse from the singing of an alien male of her own species. And this is already very important for maintaining in birds family relations. Birds different types able to understand each other. For example, the entire bird population in the forest understands the cry of a titmouse when it detects an owl: dozens of birds immediately flock to this place, demonstrating their aggressiveness towards the nocturnal predator. The restless chirping of a magpie that has discovered a hunter in the forest will notify of his approach and alert not only other birds, but also the wolf, bear and all other inhabitants of the forest. (Recordings of bird voices in various situations).

TEACHER: The language of postures and body movements plays an important role in the exchange of information between animals. A bared toothy mouth, raised fur, extended claws are quite expressive evidence of the animal’s intention to fight.

ZOOLOGIST: In the language of postures and body movements of animals, the tail and ears play a huge role: for example, in a cat, these parts of the body take on characteristic positions when expressing various shades of threat and fear.

ICHTHYOLOGISTS: Fish also often take threatening poses. During the spawning period, a stickleback, having met an opponent, stands on its head, shows its sides, and puffs up its spines. From time to time the fish grabs a blade of grass from the bottom, as if saying: “I’m busy building a nest, swim on your way.”

TEACHER: The language of light and colors plays a significant role in the life of animals. Remember how various animals are painted, which have to hide from the enemy, scare him, and how predators camouflage themselves when sneaking up on their prey. However, you can “talk” with color.

ICHTHYOLOGIST: In the depths of the ocean there are fish that use light signaling to help them find and not lose their relatives.

You remember that during the mating season, the abdomen of the male stickleback turns red and this is enough to cause an attack by another male. The same reaction is caused by any oblong object that is red at the bottom.

ZOOLOGISTS: Some animals can speak the language of fire. Thus, light signals help tropical fireflies find each other. In the forests there is one species of firefly - Ivan the worm. Only the female of this insect has a flashlight - the back of her abdomen glows. She does not know how to turn on and off a flashlight, and if she wants to remain invisible, she presses her abdomen to the ground or a leaf. When it gets dark and the female is ready to invite the male, she climbs higher and hangs on a stalk. At the same time, the female turns her abdomen so that the light is clearly visible from above. After all, the gentleman, having gathered for a visit, winds through the air between the trees, looking to see if the inviting light will light up somewhere.

A fairly reliable means of protection for fire-bellied toads is the poisonous glands of the skin. Their venom releases a pungent odor that causes lacrimation, and if it comes into contact with scratches, it causes burning and pain. On top, the skin of fire-bellied toads is light gray, brownish or black, and on the belly it is orange, red or yellow. With such a bright color, the animal warns its enemies that it is poisonous, is not suitable for food and should not be touched. In case of danger, the toad turns over on its back and begins to arch, frightening its pursuer.

TEACHER: Guys, probably each of you would like to communicate with some animal, for example, a monkey. But attempts to teach a monkey conversational human speech were made repeatedly, but were not successful. But nevertheless, you can communicate with monkeys. But how? A word from our experts.

ZOOLOGISTS: It turns out that a monkey can be taught not acoustic, but visual signals, i.e. system of signs that deaf and mute people use to talk to each other; fortunately, the monkey’s hands and fingers have sufficient mobility for this.

And one American scientist, David Primack, taught a monkey to talk to a person using pieces of plastic various forms and flowers, which she had to lay out in order. Each such piece corresponded to a specific word, and the monkey, having learned about 130 word-symbols, learned to compose sentences. The researchers believe that the method they developed for teaching monkeys sign language can be usefully used to teach language communication in humans. speech development which are difficult due to brain abnormalities.

TEACHER: Why do they study the language of animals? What does it matter?

By the howl of a wolf or the roar of a deer, you can not only detect them, but also quite accurately calculate the number of animals in a given area.

Seagulls flying screaming over some part of the sea or lake tell fishermen where to look for schools of fish.

ZOOLOGIST: Seriously language Animals began to be studied only with the development of bionics. The use of acoustic devices to combat various pests is especially promising. Thus, a device that transmits an alarm signal for insects and birds gives a good effect.

ORNITHOLOGIST: Significant damage agriculture When there is a mass gathering, it is caused by birds. With the development of aviation, the number of accidents from bird collisions with airplanes is growing. The broadcast of bird distress signals at airfields gave good results.

Final words from the teacher.

Today we met in various ways communication between animals. Along with the practical, the study and use of animal voices also has great theoretical significance. Voices help to recognize animal species and the relationships between them, study the neuropsychological organization of animals, and help trace the evolution of their signals.

Collecting animal voices is of great scientific importance, since many birds or insects, practically indistinguishable in appearance, are clearly distinguishable by their voices, and only on the basis of this feature can they be identified as independent biological species.

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Created 09/18/2011 04:08

Everyone knows that birds and insects can sing selflessly; people, undoubtedly, also enjoy singing. What about other animals? Biologists define song as “a sound made by an animal during the breeding season to attract the attention of a mate and/or defend territory,” but listening to whale songs, it’s hard to imagine that they are only used for mating or defense. Do some animals truly enjoy singing the way humans do? Let's meet some earthly creatures whose sounds sound suspiciously like song.

Toad fish can be tenors

The toadfish is the only fish in the world that sings like a bird and in two voices. The male toadfish's song is designed to attract females. Cornell University animal researcher Andrew Bass explains that this sound is not as complex as those heard from mammals and birds, and is in the simplest way communication. But the parts of the nervous system that produce these sounds are easiest to study in these fish.

Mice sing at an ultrasonic level

Did you know that mice are as seductive singers as Ricky Martin? Male mice sing ultrasonic love songs when flirting with a female, but some male mice are better at song-based courtship than others, making them the "rock stars" of the mouse world. Their songs are too high-pitched for human ears, but sometimes mice can lower the sound level of their singing. History knows a singing mouse that squeaked and trilled in the Chicago orphanage at the beginning of the 20th century.

Humpback whales sing syntactically

These majestic animals are known to sing primarily to attract mates, but a recent study suggests they also make sounds to locate themselves. The study also reports that whales use grammar in song. Humpback whales are on the verge of extinction due to human hunting. It is estimated that before commercial whaling there were about 15 thousand of these whales, but now there are only 1 to 2 thousand of them. you can listen to the songs of humpback whales.

Bulldogs bats sing for love

Bats are known for their ability to produce ultrasound, but did you know that they use an ultrasound level to sing romantic songs? University of Texas researchers listened to hundreds of hours of singing bats and determined that bulldog bats sing special songs for females. These animals also use their trills to ward off other males.

Antelope ground squirrels trill

Antelope ground squirrels are common in the desert regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico; this omnivore loves to live in desert scrub. Antelope ground squirrels are excellent burrowers and make homes in the ground to avoid predators and heat. Although they carry food in their cheeks, this does not stop them from using trills as a means of communication.

Orca dolphins sing to each other

Humpback whales aren't the only ones marine mammals who can sing. Killer whales are the largest members of the dolphin family, and they use one of the most sophisticated ultrasonic systems as a means of communication. Not only do they have regional dialects, causing slight variations in sound depending on geographic distribution, but each animal also has two individual call signs, the study notes. This enhanced ability to communicate is due to the fact that they are unusually herd animals and often travel in packs of 30-150 individuals.

Pacific marsh tree frogs sing for movie soundtracks

Frogs are well known for their vocal abilities. The Pacific swamp tree frog lives along the west coast of America from Canada to Mexico. Like other frogs, these animals sing to attract mates, but they also use their singing to inform about the weather and determine territory. Croaking sounds and songs are often recorded for use as soundtracks in films.

Beluga whales - sea canaries

Beluga whales are extraordinarily capable singers and are often called the canaries of the sea because of the birdlike sounds they make. Jean-Michel Cousteau once said: “Beluga whales are worth protecting if only for their own sake, for the beauty of their songs.”

The wolf children, one might say, are very lucky!

You don't often meet such patient and devoted parents. “Two cubs tried to tear off their mother’s tail, they tore and tore it with such fury that the fur flew in clumps. The other two did everything they could to leave their mother without an ear...”- this is how Canadian naturalist Farley Mowat describes family idyll at the lair. Yes, wolves love their children, and at the same time they are very strict educators.

Wolves are gentle and caring parents, but keeping track of the lively kids is not easy. The family idyll often gives way to harsh but fair beatings.

Severe beatings for the slightest offense and, in addition, painful biting of the head - common pedagogical technique: this is how the child is shown that he has crossed the boundaries of what is permitted. It must be said that wolf cubs learn well, including when communicating with each other. Quarrels between them are not uncommon; there are even cases of fratricide in the struggle for leadership. But parents hardly interfere in such conflicts, following the principle of natural selection: the survival of the fittest!

But where it is really needed, wolves show a lot of care and attention. For example, the father of the family will first feed the wolf cubs, and only then eat himself. After a successful hunt, he swallows large pieces of meat and then regurgitates them semi-digested for the wolf cubs.

If the children do not eat enough, the father will go hunting again without resting and not being properly fed.

Wolves are smart, receptive, and successfully adapt to different conditions existence, but taming a wolf cub is not easy. He is physically strong, can handle pain well and will always fight for the lead. Only a balanced and consistent person can cope with it.

What do wolves howl about?

Wolf songs begin at the end of June - beginning of July and sound at morning or evening dawn. This solemn and sad melody expresses the emotional unity of the pack.

In the life of a wolf, howling can play a fatal role. It would seem that such careful and intelligent animals...

However, on wabu(imitation of the howl) of the hunter, someone will respond - and the location of the lair is revealed. Only an experienced female will not succumb to provocation and will run several kilometers to find the source of the sound.

IN everyday life Wolves use a different “language”: growling, grumbling, howling, whining, yapping, barking, squealing, and a sharp squeal. By squealing, the wolf calls the cubs to him, and by yapping, he expresses impatience. If he wants to tell the crowd how pleased he is to see them all, he will, in the words of Lois Chrysler, " look straight into the eyes and mutter and squeal for a long time, selflessly and tongue-tied, almost on the same note".

The wolf's "language" is very expressive. Howling, wolves encourage each other, triumph after a successful hunt, signal to their lagging comrades and threaten strangers. Waiting mother wolf before hunting, they growl and yelp; calling the wolf cubs, they squeal; driving game, they bark.

Howl has wolves in life special meaning. For example, they “sing” before a hunt, tuning into a common mood. However, when hunting, wolves rarely vocalize. French naturalist Remy Chauvin identifies only three types of hunting signals: "... a rather quiet and prolonged howl is a simple signal to gather; a howl of a higher timbre, on two notes, - you need to immediately follow in hot pursuit; a jerky bark, accompanied by a howl, is already a hooting, which means game is in sight."

In a word, howling allows wolves to communicate at a distance and coordinate their actions when hunting.

The ability to “work in a team” also develops in games; wolves simply cannot live without them and often organize games where close and distant relatives gather. Fun things to do are started in the clearings, wide roads, harvested fields, etc. Having become naughty, the animals jump to their heart's content: both upwards in a "candle" and through each other in a leapfrog. They play both cat and mouse and catch up.

Rules of behavior are strictly observed at the games. When meeting with a seasoned man, the young man must crouch to the ground and put his neck under his teeth as a sign of obedience. It is not customary to express feelings violently. Those higher in the family hierarchy rip and bite the necks of younger family members.

The wolf's language is quite rich and unusually expressive. A sign of special location is the front paw set aside. A wide yawn is a sign of a good mood.

Scraping the ground with their hind paws, they express contempt.

Moreover, wolves also know how to smile! Their smiles are gentle, cheerful, cunning, shy...

FOLLOW THE FOX

What does a common fox look like?

It turns out that foxes are not only red!

Although the majority do have a bright red upper body, a vague cross-shaped pattern is noticeable on the shoulder blades, the chest and belly are white, the inside of the ears are black, and the tip of the tail is always white. The animals that live in the northern taiga are usually larger than their Central European relatives.

Brightly colored foxes are especially distinguished by their lush fur and size. Eastern Siberia, they are called fires.

It is not uncommon, however, for foxes with a dark cross on their shoulders and a dark brown belly - they are called crosses.

A lighter, brownish color of the belly and a less pronounced cross-shaped pattern in sivodushek.

There are still dirty with dark spots scattered across the skin and face.

Fox cubs of all colors can be born in the same litter with red foxes. Occasionally, black-brown and black-silver animals appear in nature; it was from them that foxes were bred, which are now bred on fur farms because of their beautiful and expensive fur.

Foxes have a vertical pupil, like all representatives of the cat family, while wolves and dogs have a round pupil. And foxes are also similar to cats in that they deftly use their front paws and never hunt in packs, but only alone.

In Russia, the fox lives almost everywhere.

Body length 60–90 cm, tail is always longer than half of the body with head, weight 4–10 kg.

Why was the fox nicknamed Patrikeevna?

Few animals have middle names. But the fox has! Patrikey - ancient Latin name, means "aristocrat". Although it is more correct to say Patrice, in ancient times in Rus' the Latin “s” was pronounced like “k”. By the way, this name was given only to princely offspring.

They say that about 700 years ago, Prince Patrikey Narimuntovich ruled in the Novgorod region, and he became so famous for his cunning and resourcefulness that his name has since become a household name, meaning “cunning one.” And since the people considered the fox the most cunning animal in the world, the patronymic Patrikeevna was attached to it.

How does a wolf family live?

Wolves usually live big family y, connected by family ties, headed by a mature parent couple. Spouses agree for life, unless one of them dies prematurely.

At the end of winter, strong young males choose a mate. Or vice versa, the female chooses the male, here wolves have complete equality! Young spouses leave the pack to have children, and the seasoned couple, if they grow old, allows them to settle near their lair, about two kilometers away, thereby passing on their territory by inheritance. Usually there are about 7 km between the dens of relatives.
A seasoned wolf more often chooses a young female, but marriages between peers are not uncommon. Less often, a seasoned female who has lost her mate takes a young wolf as her husband; as a rule, this is her native son. A widowed father can choose his daughter. But brothers and sisters never marry.

There are also lone wolves in the pack; they play a very important role in a large family (biologists have figured it out quite recently), helping parents raise growing wolf cubs.
Lonely “uncles” also help family brothers and sisters, but childless she-wolves will never agree to the role of “aunt”. Mother and daughter often unite their broods and raise their children together.
Wolf cubs are born in the green spring, and for the first weeks the mother is inseparable from the den. Then she begins to emerge from the hole, and relatives bring her prey. Later, she herself prowls in search of food, and “uncles” and “cousins” come to nurse the babies: they play with the wolf cubs, feed them, and protect them.

The father wolf also honestly fulfills his duty; he is always close to his offspring, unless he is busy hunting.
In the fall, when the children grow up, the whole family hunts in a pack; in addition to the father and mother, it includes the young ones (wolf cubs no older than a year) and the young ones (young wolves 1–2 years old), who learn from the elders the rules of survival.

How do wolves raise children?

The wolf children, one might say, are very lucky!
You don't often meet such patient and devoted parents. “Two cubs tried to tear off their mother’s tail; they tore and tore it with such fury that the fur flew in clumps. The other two did everything they could to leave their mother without an ear...” - this is how Canadian naturalist Farley Mowat describes the family idyll at the den. Yes, wolves love their children, and at the same time they are very strict educators.

A severe spanking for the slightest offense and, in addition, painful biting of the head is a common pedagogical technique: this is how a child is shown that he has crossed the boundaries of what is permitted. It must be said that wolf cubs learn well, including when communicating with each other. Quarrels between them are not uncommon; there are even cases of fratricide in the struggle for leadership. But parents hardly interfere in such conflicts, following the principle of natural selection: the survival of the fittest!
But where it is really needed, wolves show a lot of care and attention. For example, the father of the family will first feed the wolf cubs, and only then eat himself. After a successful hunt, he swallows large pieces of meat and then regurgitates them semi-digested for the wolf cubs.
If the children do not eat enough, the father will go hunting again without resting and not being properly fed.
Wolves are smart, receptive, and successfully adapt to different living conditions, but taming a wolf cub is not easy. He is physically strong, can handle pain well and will always fight for the lead. Only a balanced and consistent person can cope with it.

What do wolves howl about?

Wolf songs begin at the end of June - beginning of July and sound at morning or evening dawn. This solemn and sad melody expresses the emotional unity of the pack.
In the life of a wolf, howling can play a fatal role. It would seem that such careful and intelligent animals...
However, someone will respond to the hunter’s waba (imitation of howling) - and the location of the lair is revealed. Only an experienced female will not succumb to provocation and will run several kilometers to find the source of the sound.
In everyday life, wolves use a different “language”: growling, grumbling, howling, whining, yelping, barking, squealing, and a sharp squeal. By squealing, the wolf calls the cubs to him, and by yapping, he expresses impatience. If he wants to tell those gathered how pleased he is to see them all, he will, in the words of Lois Chrysler, “look straight into the eyes and mumble and squeal for a long time, selflessly tongue-tied, almost on the same note.”

The wolf's "language" is very expressive. Howling, wolves encourage each other, triumph after a successful hunt, signal to their lagging comrades and threaten strangers. Waiting for a seasoned she-wolf before the hunt, they growl and yelp; calling the wolf cubs, they squeal; driving game, they bark.

Howling has a special meaning in the life of wolves. For example, they “sing” before a hunt, tuning into a common mood. However, when hunting, wolves rarely vocalize. French naturalist Remi Chauvin identifies only three types of hunting signals: “... a rather quiet and drawn-out howl is a simple signal to gather; a howl of a higher timbre, on two notes - you need to immediately follow in hot pursuit; a jerky bark accompanied by a howl is already hooting, which means game is in sight.”
In a word, howling allows wolves to communicate at a distance and coordinate their actions when hunting.
The ability to “work in a team” also develops in games; wolves simply cannot live without them and often organize games where close and distant relatives gather. Merry games are started in clearings, wide roads, harvested fields, etc. Having become mischievous, the animals jump to their heart's content: both upward in a "candle" and over each other in a leapfrog. They play both cat and mouse and catch up.
Rules of behavior are strictly observed at the games. When meeting with a seasoned man, the young man must crouch to the ground and put his neck under his teeth as a sign of obedience. It is not customary to express feelings violently. Those higher in the family hierarchy rip and bite the necks of younger family members.
The wolf's language is quite rich and unusually expressive. A sign of special location is the front paw set aside. A wide yawn is a sign of a good mood.
Scraping the ground with their hind paws, they express contempt.
Moreover, wolves also know how to smile! Their smiles are gentle, cheerful, cunning, shy...

In fact, do animals like our music or is it too intellectual matter for them? Many are convinced that animals share their tastes, and will also be bored without the “musical wave” turned on around the clock. The question is not so simple, because different people I like it completely different styles and melodies. But people master the conversational genre and can at least somehow explain their preferences, which cannot be said about animals. However, it was possible to establish some regularities.

There is an opinion that human music is too difficult for animals to perceive. It is believed that the vocal ranges and heart rates of animals are different from those of humans, so animals are simply not able to enjoy songs. Research shows that, as a rule, animals have no interest in human music. But!

“Many animals have absolute hearing, but they are unable to distinguish the relative pitches of sounds. They can learn to recognize a sequence of notes, but if you transpose the notes to a different key while still using the same sequence of notes, they won't recognize the melody,” says veterinary psychologist Snowdon.

It is known that animals hear high-frequency sounds well and therefore, when training them, appropriate whistles are often used. Similar siren whistles are also used to scare away, for example, dogs. Circus and parade horses are clearly in time when the orchestra plays. Rhythm is also good for the same dogs that dance to marches in the circus. Rats love Mozart, this has been proven by numerous experiments. Some species of monkeys sing almost like humans. Sharks and even goldfish (unlike some people) respond to classical music and are able to differentiate between compositions.

House animals can howl to their favorite melody, but they do not adapt to the tone, but rather try to make their voice drown out others; this tradition apparently originates from the customs in wolf pack. It has been established that large breeds Molosser type dogs have a vocal range that is similar to that of humans. It is possible that such dogs can respond to music in our frequency range. A large dog is generally more sensitive to human music than a small breed dog. At Carnegie Hall, three dogs and a choir once performed Kirk Nurock's "Howl", then the composer wrote a sonata for piano and dog.

Gray parrots love something rhythmic, like reggae, and, surprisingly, they calm down to the menacing play of Bach's toccatas. Moreover, some are more willing to listen to reggae, others love classics more. It was found that parrots cannot tolerate electronic music.

Elephants have musical memory and hearing, they are even able to remember melodies of three notes. Long-eared giants prefer violin and bass sounds copper pipes than a shrill flute. In Africa, these animals sometimes eat fermented fallen fruits and, under the influence of alcohol, like Homo Sapiens, begin to riot. Then local residents drive away the tons of drunkards with rock music, amplified many times over by equipment.

Rock music, jazz and other “heavy metal” are generally in trouble. Normal living organisms absolutely do not like them; moreover, they literally cause physical disorders in them. Chickens go into convulsions and stop laying eggs, cows are milked, cats hide under the bed, rodents leave their homes. In beef that was exposed to heavy tunes during life, substances similar to the destructive effects of stress are found. Classical music, on the contrary, only causes positive emotions. In German cowsheds Beethoven and Tchaikovsky are played quietly, this increases growth and almost doubles milk yield. The shepherd's pipe - it turns out that it was not just entertainment, but a useful thing.