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As we know, elephant vocalization plays a key role in their survival in the wild. For this week’s EleFact, we look at a recent study that delved into the complex system of sounds they make, from low-frequency rumbles and roars to high-frequency chirps and squeaks. Much of the research on elephant communication comes from studying African elephants, but we don’t know as much about Asian elephants and their communication strategies, which differ in several ways. It’s important to understand the subtleties, since African and Asian elephants are completely separate species with unique habits and habitats. 

In a study published in the journal Mammalian Biology, researchers looked at the calls of wild Asian elephants based on their sex, age, and behavioral patterns. They found that the duration of trumpets remained fairly consistent across all age groups and between male and female individuals, but roars and rumbles got longer with age. And the elephants would combine the trumpets, roars, rumbles, and chirps in different ways, called combination calls, to convey different messages. 

The most high frequency vocalizations that both Asian and African elephants can produce are trumpets. Researchers previously thought that Asian elephants trumpeted primarily to announce disturbances caused by humans or other threatening species. This new study suggests that there are other contexts for Asian elephants, including social interactions and play. 

When looking at the differences between male and female elephants, they deduced that younger male and female elephants produce higher-pitched calls to attract attention from their herd mates. On the other hand, the older ones used lower-pitched calls for the same purpose. The researchers suggest that this could be because of changes in body size and vocalization mechanisms that come with age. They also found that Asian and African elephant calves have similar roars. It could be that the roar serves a universal purpose that spans across elephant species. 

The more research that is done about both elephant species, the better we will be able to understand how each communicates most effectively. That could play a part in conservation efforts in the future.