Rabbits and ecolocation

With a far-fetched sounding title like that, where should I start? :?

Well, my husband and I were sitting on the couch and enjoying the company of one of our buns today.
He has some incredibly sharp hearing when it comes it high pitched noises.

He pointed out that the bun (Coconut) was making very short and almost impossible-for-humans-to-hear high sounds with her nose while wiggling it rapidly.

With my ear right next to her nose I could also hear the very faintest of whistle sounds coming from her too. It wasn't the first time I've heard such sounds coming out of rapidly moving bunny noses. It sounds something like an incredibly short squeaky note played on a dog whistle, if you've ever heard one. Some people can. It isn't something anyone can hear a foot away. I literally have to place my ear right up to the nose to hear it, and have most often heard it while my ears were being closely inspected by a friendly bun.
I'd always been somewhat worried about those sounds from the rabbits, associating it with possible respiratory problems, or overheating.

I'm starting to wonder now.

Coconut wasn't stressed or overheating (about 68 F in here), and has no respiratory issues. Neither have plenty of other buns I've heard (and almost heard) such noises from. It can be hard to describe how people react to noises we can't fully hear. :lol:

Anyway, it presented an idea to me, about rabbit depth perception, and possibly very limited communication with other rabbits.
I've seen theories about how the nose wiggling may provide a form of communication. maybe, it's not a visual cue, and those nose wiggles are producing sounds only another rabbit at close range can hear?

That's all just speculation though, and wasn't really where I was going with this.

Before I get more into it, I wasn't to make sure everyone is on the same page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_echolocation

Human echolocation is the ability of humans to detect objects in their environment by sensing echoes from those objects, by actively creating sounds – for example, by tapping their canes, lightly stomping their foot, snapping their fingers, or making clicking noises with their mouths – people trained to orient by echolocation can interpret the sound waves reflected by nearby objects, accurately identifying their location and size. This ability is used by some blind people for acoustic wayfinding, or navigating within their environment using auditory rather than visual cues. It is similar in principle to active sonar and to animal echolocation, which is employed by bats, dolphins and toothed whales to find prey.

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Ecolocation doesn't have to be in the ultra precise form that is employed by bats and dolphins. People can learn to do it.
I know, because I click, humm or talk to myself incessantly when I am in a dark space.

See, I've always been blind. My contacts correct that well enough now, and most people are not even aware that I have poor vision, but, no one knew I struggled to see until a school caught it when I was 8 years old.

I happen know from experience that making noise in a dark space can provide one with depth perception. I can't identify the location and size of objects in my environment like some people can, but, I can move though total darkness with relative confidence and without stumbling. I know where the floor and walls are, if I make noise or have some to go by.
If I try to be totally silent (for example, while trying not to wake anyone up), I lose all sense of depth.

That led to me thinking, if I have some ability, with my little human ears...

Would it even make sense to exclude the possibility of other animals employing a very limited amount of it as well?
With rabbit eyes placed the way they are, how handy it could be if they were able to use those some of those high pitched noises and huge ears to provide a bit of depth information directly in front of them, where they have an especially hard time focusing.

Anyone have any thoughts on it? Any research that has ever been done? Am I just crazy?

That is an absolutely fascinating thought! I would love to learn more - or see if there are any studies being done... Maybe you could head it up :gettowork: :lol:

And as far as human echolocation - I should try that out. DH always laughs at me b/c I can't see squat in the dark (or almost dark), and even in our own bedroom I can't get through without touching and feeling my way around. He jokes that the room hasn't changed, but I have zero concept of where I am. One night I woke up and had somehow turned myself at an angle and it threw me all off! I sat up thinking I should be facing one direction, but knew I wasn't based on the alarm clock... it still took me a few seconds to reorient myself.

I doubt there are any studies being done. I think, it's a fairly recent revelation that the entire animal kingdom might use a little more of it then we previously realized.

The entire wikipedia article is a good read.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_echolocation

Terrestrial mammals other than bats known to echolocate include two genera (Sorex and Blarina) of shrews and the tenrecs of Madagascar.[59] These include the wandering shrew (Sorex vagrans), the common or Eurasian shrew (Sorex araneus), and the short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda).[60] The nature of shrew sounds unlike those of bats are low amplitude, broadband, multi-harmonic and frequency modulated.[60] They contain no ‘echolocation clicks’ with reverberations and would seem to be used for simple, close range spatial orientation. In contrast to bats, shrews use echolocation only to investigate their habitat rather than additionally to pinpoint food.[60] There is evidence that blinded laboratory rats can use echolocation to navigate mazes.[61]

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There is a world of difference between the ability to navigate a maze, and having a vague idea of the immediate space one happens to be in. It's really along the lines of "How well can you see?"
Sort of like how humans cannot interpret anywhere near as much scent information as dogs can, but we still have a sense of smell.

I think, it might be a long time before we understand just how many animals use sound as supplement to the more heavily relied on methods of orientation, like sight and feel.

So interesting!! I have pretty sharp hearing. For example, I can hear the high-pitched sound a television makes when turned on...and those rodent repellers that humans aren't supposed to hear are very annoying to me. That saying, I have never heard a rabbit make noises like that. I guess I'll have to pay closer attention next time one is close to my ear! I really wouldn't be surprised if rabbits used echolocation to some extent. There is so much we don't understand the extent of....like pheromones, etc... Fascinating stuff! And now I'll pay closer attention to my own use of echolocation when navigating in the dark! (Though it won't tell me when I'm about to step on a toy car... :x )

bikegurl":25mw6foc said:

(Though it won't tell me when I'm about to step on a toy car... :x )

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Or a Lego :evil: