How about rattlesnakes? How would they know the thing is working?
>> How about rattlesnakes? How would they know the thing is working?
Please choose one of the following:
a) Smart aleck answer (free, available immediately)
b) Off-the-top-of-my-head serious answer (free, available immediately, worth what you pay for it)
c) Researched answer (this one’s gonna cost you)
They know because their senses of smell and temperature and vibration tell them that their would-be predators (and accidental stompers) are scurrying away immediately following the tail-wag.
Their ability to sense vibration is a pretty effective substitute for hearing, and I'm sure they can sense the vibrations caused by their own rattle. However, they're not likely to be able to sense the difference between a dim-witted human yelling "Hey Snaky, bite the cop!", and the same dim-witted human yelling "Hey, B!t*#, bring me a beer!" to his gal-pal of the week.