A horse whinny may be unique in the animal kingdom
AP News • • science
Key Points:
- Researchers have discovered that horses produce the high-pitched component of their whinny by whistling through their voice box, a mechanism previously unknown in large mammals.
- The study involved inserting a camera through horses’ noses to observe their vocal cords and conducting tests on isolated horse voice boxes, revealing that air vibrates tissues while a small opening allows the whistle sound to escape.
- This two-toned whinny, combining low-pitched vibrations and high-pitched whistling, may enable horses to convey more complex social messages and emotions simultaneously.
- Unlike horses, close relatives such as donkeys and zebras cannot produce the high-pitched whistle, raising questions about the evolutionary origin of this vocal ability.
- The findings
