Despite their reputation for being stealthy, crocodiles are very vocal. Now a group of Australian researchers are using video and audio monitoring to try to decipher what their calls mean.
abc.net.au/news/estuarine-crocodiles-talk-to-each-other-scientists-are-learning/102672584Crocodiles are often depicted as silent predators. Their ability to go undetected in the waters of northern Australia is part of what makes them so intimidating.
While there has been a fair bit of research done on American alligators, there isn't so much in the scientific literature on their Australian counterparts, says Ms Flores' honours supervisor, aquatic ecologist Ross Dwyer. "That creates a really low frequency which travels really far in the water. So we know they make this amazing selection of sound."But studying the noises of crocodiles in their native habitat presents a few problems, and not just because they're a dangerous animal.
"It's really hard to pick up what is the crocodile versus what's a frog, versus a fish, versus all the other noises and clicks that you get from the waters in these really diverse regions."To get around this, Ms Flores, along with Dr Dwyer and acoustic ecologist Dominic Potvin, also from the University of the Sunshine Coast, are working with Australia Zoo.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Dehumanising’: Australian actor heartbroken over trans ban for Talk To MeActor Zoe Terakes, best known for Wentworth and Nine Perfect Strangers, has responded to the film’s banning in Kuwait.
Read more »
Spanish renewables giant sounds stark warning on Australian projectsThe Spanish renewable energy giant that is building Australia’s biggest wind farm says bad behaviour within the sector is putting community support for future projects at risk.
Read more »
The Australian-born Apple exec who’s solving a swimwear problemShe’s a chief of staff during the day and business owner by night, but this woman added another string to her bow after a fruitless search for swim shorts.
Read more »
Thirteen Australian children rescued in global probe sparked by slain FBI agentsThe Australian arm of an elaborate online child abuse network has been uncovered after the murder of two FBI agents prompted an international investigation targeting child abuse material on the dark web. 7NEWS
Read more »
Murder of FBI agents leads to alleged Australian paedophile ring bustTwo FBI agents were killed investigating a child abuse ring – a year later Australian police arrested 19 men allegedly linked to the dark web paedophile network.
Read more »
Australian sisters sell fashion label in billion-dollar dealSisters Nicky and Simone Zimmermann have sold the rapidly expanding label Zimmermann to US equity firm Advent International for an undisclosed amount. Last month, Advent reportedly made an unsolicited offer of $1.75 billion for the business.
Read more »