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
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?
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.
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?