How Animals Communicate

Communication has been an essential part of our daily lives. Wherever we go, we
communicate with other people. We talk, we chat, and even laugh or cry with them. Through
communication, we understand how people, think and feel. However, did you know that we
humans are not the only ones who are capable of communication? Several studies show that
animals are also capable of communicating with each other. Animals might not have the talent
to speak or learn complex language but they certainly have other ways of communicating. Bird
chirps, wolf howls, even the vigorous waving of a dogs tail are among the examples of how
animals transmit information to each other and to other denizens of the animal kingdom.

I decided to deliver this speech about animal communication because Im pretty sure
that Im not the only one who is curious on how animals communicate with each other. To fully
understand animal communication, I will first define what animal communication is, then I will
discuss the different modes and functions of animal communication, and the difference between
animal communication and human communication.

First, let us define what animal communication is.

Animal communication or what scientists call zoosemiotics is the process of
transferring information among animals. It mainly consists of visual communication (gestures,
facial expressions, etc.), acoustic communication (sounds) and olfactory communication (smell).

The first mode of animal communication is visual communication, wherein animals use
body gestures and facial expressions to communicate. The best-known form of visual
communication involves the display of distinctive body parts, or bodily movements. For
example, wolves and dogs put their tails between their legs and lie on their backs to show
submission to another wolf or dog and to let them know they are not a threat.

Another form of visual communication is through facial expressions. Dogs for example
express anger through snarling and showing their teeth. In alarm, their ears will perk up. When
fearful, dogs will pull back their ears, expose their teeth slightly, and squint their eyes.
The next mode of animal communication is acoustic communication, wherein animals
produce sounds to communicate. Several animals communicate through vocalizations. However,
not every member of a species is just alike. There are cases that animals in different regions
have often been overhead sounding off in different dialects. For example, according to the
article, Animal Vocal Communication by David Haskell, blue whales produce different patterns
of pulses, tones, and pitches depending on where they are from. Some bird species are the
same. Birds that live on the border between territories often become bilingual, and able to
communicate in the singing parlance favored by each of their groups of neighbors.
Next is olfactory communication. Many mammals, in particular, have glands that
generate distinctive and long-lasting smells, and have corresponding behaviors that leave these
smells in places where they have been. Often the scented substance is introduced
into urine or feces. Sometimes it is distributed through sweat, though it does not leave a
permanent mark. Some animals have glands on their bodies whose sole function is to deposit
scent marks. A deer, for example, can transmit scents from glands on the legs and head
through the air, can also mark trees and twigs from the same glands, and has other glands on
the feet for leaving scent trials on the ground. Cats have scent glands on their flanks, and
deposit scent by rubbing their sides against objects.

Now that we learn about the different modes of animal communication, let us now go to
the functions of animal communication. There are three major functions; to attract a mate, to
defend territories and to raise alarm calls.
First, animal transmits signal to attract the attention of a potential mate. These
frequently involve the display of body parts, body postures, or the emission of scents or calls,
that are unique to the species. For example, peacocks spread their brightly colored tail to
impress peahens. Among some species of fireflies, the females give off a flashing light in the
form of code signals to attract males.
Animals also transmit signals to defend their territories. For example, when a wolf marks
its territory, it lifts a hind leg and urinates on a scent post. Ring-tailed lemurs hold their distinctive
tails high in the air during territorial scent marking. They also engage in "stink fights" with
intruding males.
Lastly, animals transmit signals to warn other animals about threats from a predator,
allowing all members of a social group (and often members of other species) to run for cover,
become immobile, or gather into a group to reduce the risk of attack. Alarm signals are not
always vocalized. An example of this is that crushed ants release an alarm pheromone that
sends nearby ants into an attack frenzy and attracts more ants from further away.
With this, we learn how animal communication functions to animals. Even though
communication serves the same purpose for both animals and humans, there are still
differences between them. I would like to stress two differences, the structure, and creativity.
The primary difference between human communication and animal communication is the
duality of structure of human language. Each human language has a fixed number of sound units
called phonemes. These phonemes are combined to make morphemes. Thus, language has two
levels of patterning which is not prevailed in animal communication.
Another distinctive feature of human communication is creativity. Human beings use their
linguistic resources to produce new expressions and new sentences. They arrange and rearrange
phonemes, morphemes, words, and phrases to create new modes of expression. This is also called
open- endedness of language. Animal communication is closed system they cannot produce new
vocal signals to communicate novel events or experience.
Ladies and gentlemen, I delivered this speech for I want to share to you how animals
are also capable of communication like humans. Though they are not capable of learning
complex language, we have learned that they have various ways of communicating with each
other. They have the visual communication where they use body gestures and facial
expressions, the acoustic communication, where they produce sounds and the olfactory
communication where they produce smells. These various modes of communication have
helped them to attract mates, defend their territories, and raise alarms against predators. We
also learned how animal communication differs in structure and creativity from human
communication. I hope that you appreciated the knowledge that I shared to you today. Thank
You!