Whenever someone asked me what superpower I would like to have, my answer was always the same — to communicate with animals. However, that is easier said than done, or so I thought. Now, a naturalist is sharing how he cracked the code and learned to understand animal language.
Naturalist Shares How He Learned To Understand Animal Language
No, this is not a Dr. Doolittle situation happening right now. While naturalist George Bumann and his wife Jenny Golding cannot speak to the animals, they can understand what the animals are saying. Cowboy State Daily shares how the couple moved to "the Buffalo Ranch in Yellowstone National Park's Lamar Valley." It all started back in 2002 when a pair of ravens decided to claim a piece of the Bumann's fence as their home. According to Bumann, their chatter was nonstop. "It just went on and on," he told the outlet.
Most of us would likely be annoyed and seek ways to quiet the birds. However, Bumann took a different approach. He began by mimicking the sounds that he heard. Later, the naturalist learned that different sounds held different meanings. First, he picked up on the three-note call. The ravens would use that call "when a car pulled up at the foot of the Buffalo Ranch driveway." That signaled to Bumann that the birds were staking their territorial claim. However, their communication did not stop there.
Understanding Different Sound Variations
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Another day, while walking his dog, Bumann heard a new variation of the raven song. When he looked up, he saw the ravens chasing a golden eagle out of their territory. "From then on, I knew," he told the outlet. "Every time I heard that variation," I knew "that's a golden eagle." A friend of Bumann's confirmed his findings, explaining that the ravens often "rat out" the eagles when they are out trying to trap them. He also shared that the raven's vocabulary is so vast that there is a different sound for bald eagles versus golden eagles.
"I've managed to pull it off a few times," Bumann said, describing how he's impressed those he's with by predicting that a bald eagle is about to fly by. "I think a bald eagle's coming, probably from over there. And a minute goes by and oh, there it is."
Bumann hopes that others will join him in his quest to learn to understand animal language. The more we know about and communicate with wildlife, the better we can understand our impact on one another.
