Marmots Use Own Language to Communicate With Their Tribe

A research team recently discovered that European marmots use their own secret languages to communicate with their families to distinguish their tribe from others.

According to 34-year-old associate professor Mariona Ferrandiz Rovira from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the study was conducted between 2011 and 2017 although just two months each year. This is because marmots hibernate from October until April and the location where they reside is covered with snow and quite difficult to access during spring.

Nevertheless, the study investigators have just exposed their findings. Specifically, Ferrandiz, another investigator working on the project said, that they saw that "each population had a different scream" which the computer software can recognize.

Through the use of innovative technology and microphones to have the noises recorded, the study investigators late evaluated the data.

RELATED ARTICLE: Nonnative Birds Take Charge in Oahu Seed Dispersal

(Photo : Sean Gallup/Getty Image)
A team research team recently discovered that European use their own, secret languages, to communicate with their family, and therefore, distinguishing their tribe from others.

Marmots Studied

The said study took place on four different alpine marmot or marmot populations, the American groundhog or Marmota monax's European cousin.

According to Zenger News, the differences between the languages seem to be quite extreme "that when a foreign groundhog shouts a warning," it is typically not understood, and everyone in the population "automatically flees."

Nevertheless, a warning from the same group is understood, leading to the animals acting on it according to the communication they receive.

Two of these populations are situated in Pyrenees in the Catalonia region located in northern Spain, and the other two, in French Alps.

Marmot's Scream Recorded

The study investigators recorded the marmot scream's noise, typically used to prepare other members of the family to probable hazards, so they can escape to their dens to hide. This is their main means of thwarting any possible predators.

Such findings of the experts recently came out in the Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology academic journal. The study authors therefore concluded that, by hearing screams from a different family, as they are different, and they do not understand the language, they believe there is "danger somewhere and flee to their lair."

Ferrandiz explained that they saw that "when marmots hear the screams of their own family or population, they do nothing." However, when the noise came from a different group, they are hiding, "just in case" there is danger.

Languages Compared

The study investigators compared as well, the languages of marmots to that of humans and discovered the languages to be different.

In France , two populations studied were found to be only separated by about 10 kilometers, but their languages were very different.

Essentially, marmots use their scream as a warning system for protection against predators like eagles and foxes.

Additionally, marmot groups follow a strict social hierarchy, too, with Ferrandiz describing that the animals are typically monogamous. More so, they are living together with their offspring, unlike most humans.

Marmot Offspring

Sometimes, the offspring of marmots are not only babies that belong to the couple they're living with. They can also come from one of the previous partners of the couple.

Each family or group comprises two prominent figures, one male and the other a female who are a couple, together with their offspring, with majority of the groups composed of around 20 members.

According to data, groundhog is very common species and widespread throughout its range in the United States, although an approximate of the population remains unavailable.

RELATED ARTICLE: Tiny Songbirds Are Dying Due to Salmonella from Baths and Feeders 

Check out more news and information on Animals on Science Times.