wisdom
Different species have evolved unique methods of communicating with their surroundings and each other. Smell, taste, sight, sound, and touch – these are not merely senses in the animal world, but modes of exchange. Evidence of the ingenuity and efficiency of nature’s designs, which maintain balance and ensure their own survival, and, often, that of others, too. When giraffes begin browsing the leaves of an acacia tree, the tree responds defensively. Bitter-tasting compounds flood their leaves, and the giraffe moves on to another tree after only a few minutes. The browsed acacia tree then also releases airborne chemical signals, to alert neighbouring trees, who pre-emptively prepare for the approaching giraffe with their own secretions. This pushes giraffes upwind, sparing the trees from being stripped bare. A bigger picture system that’s better for all. Sensitive nerve endings in the soft pads of an elephant’s otherwise weathered feet can receive signals through the ground, which vibrate through their bodies and bones. Their ability to send each other messages seismically, through stomping or rumbling at a low frequency, means that distance is no barrier to communication. The vibrations allow them to locate, warn, or
coordinate with each other from up to 20 miles away. Community minded, always. A zebra’s stripes are not only a means of camouflage, but also a distraction and diversion. Flies are attracted to horizontally polarised light, which they associate with places to land and feed, such as water or dark animal coats. Zebras’ stripes disrupt and distract by reflecting light in mixed polarisation patterns – black absorbs it, white reflects it – creating a confusing visual signal that prevents flies from irritating or biting them. Evasive even while stationary, through design. If it senses a threat, a vervet monkey alerts its neighbours. But the system isn’t one-call-fits-all. It’s sophisticated enough to let other monkeys – and species – know exactly who is close by. With specific calls for each of their primary predators, vervets communicate across canopies and perches: a series of short, low- pitched calls for a leopard, which prompts the monkeys to run into trees; a single, high-pitched hiss for snakes, which sends them up onto two legs to scan the ground; and a short sharp ‘cough’ for an eagle, which tells them to look up and seek cover in dense bushes. Effective, adaptive, and dynamic.
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