Animals Decoded

In the Amazon, a bald uakari monkey does a jig before urinating. In Africa, a cobra spreads out its ribs to form a hood at the sight of another creature. In the U.K., an alpha male wolf places his chin on the back of a pack member. What are these animals trying to communicate through these gestures and poses? Scientists have spent years studying the body language of creatures great and small and are finally learning to decode the signals they’re sending, whether it’s to ward off a threat, find a mate, or uphold a social structure.

Some animals, like elephants and whales, can speak at volumes too low for a human to hear while others, like howler monkeys, can shriek as loud as a jet taking off. Whether at infrasonic or ear-piercing levels, animals talk…a lot, whether to bond with family and friends, ward of interlopers and enemies, or simply keep their herd together. Follow scientists as they use cutting-edge tools and methods to piece together how and what animals are saying to each other and harnessing that knowledge to hopefully help restore wildlife populations.

Lemurs “stink-flirt” with each other when they’re ready to breed, using a personal perfume we cannot smell. Chameleons socialize by utilizing a part of the light spectrum that’s invisible to the human eye. Adders get a snapshot of their entire world just by licking the air. Animals communicate, not with words, but with sounds, smells, and gestures often undetected by our senses. But scientists are just learning how to decipher these hidden languages, which ultimately could provide a lifeline to save some of our most endangered wildlife.