Dog goes woof, cat goes meow, bird goes tweet and mouse goes squeek, but what does the fox say? A Norwegian variety duo Ylvis released a song that asks this question, and surprisingly, in just a month the video on YouTube has reached more than 100 million viewers.
Some people love this video and think it’s the coolest thing in the world, while others find it weird or foolish and hate it. Taste in music, of course, is a personal matter, but regardless if you like the video or not, it’s undeniable, that the question “what does the fox say?” is raised more and more often. Ylvis offer seemingly ridiculous answers like “wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow!” and “chacha-chacha-chacha-chow!”
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
That’s just goofing around, right? Actually, foxes have over 40 different calls and sounds they make. They are very social mammals, so a big part of their interactions happens via sound. Some are contact calls and others are interaction calls. Foxes use a wide array of sounds to find mates, communicate within groups and threaten rivals. The alarm call is actually very similar to the “jacha-chacha-chacha-chow” you can hear in the video. Such sharp high-pitched barks are usually used by fox communities to find each other. Each fox has a different, individual “voice”, so foxes can tell each other apart by this “ow-wow-wow”.
Foxes are making gekkering sounds, when they are fighting for territory. It’s a guttural chattering with occasional howls and yelps like “ack-ack-ackawoooo”. Young foxes imitate these sounds when play-fighting with each other. What about the howling “a-ooo-oooo-oooo” sounds Ylvis suggests? Yes, that’s in real fox life too. Vixens, aka female foxes use such howling noises to lure males for mating. Males from time to time also use the same sound in response. The sound is actually quite shrieking and terrifying, unless you’re a fox, of course. It’s a shrill, hoarse scream that is similar to a human child screaming for help.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
However, why exactly humans haven’t put the fox sound in a recognizable form like “woof” or “meow”? It could be because of several reasons. Most of the animal sounds we know are domestic animal sounds, while foxes are wild animals. The closest way to actually describe a typical fox scream is “wraahhhghhh”, which isn’t very convenient to say. Other reason could be because foxes aren’t naturally as loud animals as, for example, wolves. Although foxes are from canid family like wolves, their hunting style is more similar to cat hunting style. Foxes stalk their prey and have sharp teeth for killing (in comparison, dogs have dull and large teeth for grabbing and shaking). Foxes usually communicate with scents, and use noises only when necessary. Though, probably the real reason, why there is no recognizable fox sound, is that the noises they make are awful. Even a happy fox sounds like it’s being strangled. It would be awkward to tell your kids that the cow goes moo, the frog goes croak and the fox goes “yagggaggghahhhahhaaa”.
So the next time you and your friends are watching this video, and your friends say that it’s so random and doesn’t make any sense, you can confidently say that actually, it does make perfect sense.
The post What Does The Fox Say? appeared first on Green Buzz - Environmental Blog.