Wolves, like dogs, recognize the voice of people familiar to them

We are used to the idea that pets, especially dogs, recognize the voice of their owner, or in any case of those people who regularly share time with them. But the fact that an animal recognizes the vocal connotations of a specific individual belonging to a different species is not that trivial or obvious. To understand if this characteristic is also found in other animals, and in particular in non-domestic ones, a group of researchers conducted some experiments with groups of wolves living in five different Spanish zoos or natural parks. Based on the results obtained, published on animal cognitionit seems clear that even wolves are able to distinguish a familiar voice from others belonging to unknown people.

The 24 Gray Wolves tracked

Specifically, a total of 24 gray wolves, both male and female, aged between one and 13 years were involved in the study. By installing speakers in the areas where these animals live, the researchers made sure that they were exposed to listening to different voices: alternately they played voices of people who were unknown to them or sentences recorded by those who regularly look after them. Their attention, the researchers write, was captured for a significantly longer time in the second case, demonstrating the fact that wolves, like dogs, are able to recognize the sounds emitted by an individual familiar to them, even if belonging to a a different species.

Known voices

Between the‘other, it does not seem to be a question of recognizing specific phrases, or, better to say, specific sounds linked to words that wolves have already heard in the past. In fact, of the sentences recorded by their keepers, the researchers alternately reproduced sentences “known” to the animals, i.e. those that the keepers usually repeat, and random sentences: in both cases the wolves showed greater interest than the unknown voices.

And if wolves can do it, he tells AFP extension Holly Root? Gutteridge, co-author of the study, it is possible that many other wild species are capable of recognizing previously heard voices: “If we are talking about such general abilities – concludes the researcher – it means that animals could have many more interactions between different species than previously thought”. And for nature excursion enthusiasts it will be impossible from now on not to think about how many animals can hypothetically recognize the sound of their voice, animals whose presence we humans may not even notice.