It has been suggested that African savanna elephants Loxodonta africana produce 31
different call types (Langbauer 2000). Various researchers have described these calls
by associating them with specific behavioural contexts. More recently Leong et al.
(2003) have attempted to classify elephant call types based on their physical
properties. They classified 8 acoustically distinct call types from a population of
captive elephants. This study focuses on one of these call types, the rumble, in a wild
population of elephants in Kruger National Park, South Africa. A single family group
of elephants was followed to record group behaviours and vocalizations from January
through August 2001. By measuring the physical properties of 663 rumbles and
subjecting these to cluster analysis, we present evidence that shows that rumbles can
be categorized by their physical properties and that the resulting rumble types are
associated with specific group behaviours. We characterize three types of rumbles that
differ significantly by ten acoustic parameters. Two rumble types were associated with
the elephant group feeding and resting, while the third was associated with socializing
and agitation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:tut/oai:encore.tut.ac.za:d1001005 |
| Date | 26 October 2005 |
| Creators | Wood, JD, McCowan, B, Langbauer, R, Viljoen, J, Hart, L |
| Publisher | Bioacoustics, The International Journal of Animal Sound and its Recording, |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | |
| Rights | © 2005 AB Academic Publishers |
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