Hyena giggles no laughing matter

BBC News (U.K.) ^ | May 12, 2009

[Schnucki]

Researchers have begun to unravel the information and social content present in the hyena's famed laugh, which they say is only used in times of conflict.

The pitch and variability of the giggles may be used to indicate age or social status, they say.

Younger hyenas tend to have high-pitched giggles, and dominant females of the strongly hierarchical clans tend to have a narrower range of sounds.

The work will be reported at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America.

The rich social structure of hyena clans gives rise to many vocalisations, ranging from "whoops" that travel great distances to quiet grunts among close individuals.

But it is the laugh of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) that has given them their more common moniker of "laughing hyenas".

"This is a very complex society of nocturnal animals, so acoustics is a very important communication channel for them," says Nicolas Mathevon, who led the research.

It has been hypothesised by researchers studying hyenas in the wild that the laughing is not, in fact, a sign of good humour.

Yet it remains unclear what social information the short fits of laughter - or giggles, as the researchers call them - convey.

[Schnucki]

[ChicagahAl]

"dominant females of the strongly hierarchical clans tend to have a narrower range of sounds"

Very much like humans. Think about it.

[Piquaboy]

They sound a lot like Hillary Clinton cackles.

[ex91B10]

The pitch and variability of the giggles may be used to indicate age or social status, they say. Younger hyenas tend to have high-pitched giggles,

Pre-pubesent

...and dominant females of the strongly hierarchical clans tend to have a narrower range of sounds.

So female hyenas only have to say 'Honey Do' too.

[True Republican Patriot]

Yep! Appears to accurately describe the screeches coming from the Main Seat at The Head Table of The Correspondent’s Dinner saturday Night? as shown in this Very Illustrative Picture of ZERO HUSSEIN which Baghdad Bob Gibbs must not have seen before his Denial Presser Yesterday! Oh WELL?
Why are We NOT SCHOCKED BY ZERO HUSSEIN’S Latest Gross Antics?

[Gay State Conservative]

I saw a pack of hyenas in the wild once.Got up pretty close to them.They are just about the ugliest,meanest looking critters you can imagine.

[WOBBLY BOB]

I found the audio:

http://domania.us/Oaccess/AUD/Hillary-Laugh.mp3

[madinmadtown]

There was a boy in one of my children's grade school classes who had been attacked by hyenas while visiting his grandmother in Africa. He was left with severe mental and physical disabilities as a consequence. The sight of a domestic dog would cause him to scream in utter panic. His screams were a haunting and frightening sound that I will never forget.

[Gay State Conservative]

There was a boy in one of my children's grade school classes who had been attacked by hyenas while visiting his grandmother in Africa. He was left with severe mental and physical disabilities as a consequence.

From what I've seen that's not hard to imagine.Years back I went on a "safari" tour of several national parks in Tanzania...riding in a Land Rover the entire time.At one point we got up to about 15 feet of a pride of lions that were just laying (lying?) there.I was about to soil my underwear when the driver said to us "don't worry,they've just eaten".And the encounter with the hyenas wasn't very calming either,although we only got about 100 feet from them.My most vivid memory was when we spotted a Rhino (the animal...not McCain)...and he spotted us.We were,perhaps,a couple of hundred yards away.The driver was clearly uneasy and said he wouldn't go any closer because Rhinos *will* charge a Land Rover and in such a situation the Rhinos win.

I can't imagine what it must have been like to be attacked by a hyena.

[Sax]

"I don't think it's nice, you gigglin'. See, my hyena don't like people gigglin'. He gets the crazy idea you're gigglin' at him. Now, if you apologize, like I know you're going to, I might convince him that you really didn't mean it."

[BILLNHILL MAKE ME ILL]

Researchers have begun to unravel the information and social content present in the hyena's famed laugh, which they say is only used in times of conflict.

Explains some of Pelosi's diatribes.

[potlatch]

You sure did!