This spaniel wolves This animal like dogs, they recognize and respond to familiar human voices more than strangers. Research results may have implications for understanding both the history of dog domestication and hitherto unknown aspects of the animal world.
Holly Root-Gutteridge of the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom, and a co-author of the study published in Animal Cognition, notes that until now the dogs’ ability to distinguish human voices has been attributed to selective breeding over generations. That pattern does not apply to wolves.
“That’s why we wanted to study wolves, because obviously no one is doing selective breeding that would allow them to recognize different human voices,” she explained.
24 wolves in Spain
Researchers led by Root-Gutterridge conducted experiments across five zoos and natural parks in Spain, using a group of 24 gray wolves ranging in age from 1 to 13 years, both male and female.
Set up included speakers that initially played voices of unfamiliar people to the animals. The wolves gradually lost interest in these sounds, as if nothing important was conveyed by strangers.
In a second phase, the caregivers spoke in Spanish, delivering familiar daily messages such as, “Hey, what’s up wolves?” or “Hello little ones, good morning, how are you?”
That moment the wolves raised their heads, pricked their ears, and turned toward the speaker in gestures that would be instantly recognizable to any dog owner.
Repeat the experiment
To ensure the effect was not a fluke, the researchers again played recordings of strangers and observed that the wolves disengaged once more.
Ultimately, the team asked keepers to utter a set of phrases that were less common and more unusual for the wolves, to confirm that the wolves were recognizing their caregivers’ voices rather than merely hearing familiar words. Even in this scenario, the wolves remained attentive.
One photograph caption notes a Spanish wolf expert, Carlos Sanz, associated with the study, underscoring the breadth of field collaboration.
Regarding the findings, Root-Gutteridge described to AFP that it is important for wolves to distinguish between different people, even though humans and wolves diverged along separate evolutionary lines tens of millions of years ago.
Elephants distinguish among human groups
Earlier work on animal vocal perception showed that great apes, including gorillas, can listen to humans and differentiate voices. Newer observations extend this idea to other species: large-brained elephants can tell a person’s gender, age, and even ethnicity by voice alone. In some cases, elephants assign lower threat levels to women and children, while reacting with greater unease to certain Maasai speakers linked to hunting pressures than to farmers from other communities.
With these insights, researchers suggest that many species may be capable of recognizing individuals as distinct beings, a capability that could facilitate more nuanced interspecies interactions than previously thought. The same researchers note that dogs may even distinguish neighbors’ cats by their distinctive meows, hinting at a broader, more general auditory intelligence among animals.
If such abilities are widespread, they could reshape our understanding of how animals relate to humans and each other in daily life and in ecological contexts.
For further reading, the study is available through SpringerLink, which provides the full article detailing the methods and findings.
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