Mother and kid goats recognise each other's calls soon after the mothers give birth, new research has confirmed.
The study measured the individuality of the goats' calls and the ability of goats to recognise the individual differences.
Scientists Dr Elodie Briefer and Dr Alan McElligott from the University of London, found that mother and kid goats react more to the calls from their own kids and mothers than they do from other goats they know.
Dr Briefer said: "Goats in the wild have an antipredator strategy called 'hiding' where the young stay hidden in vegetation during the first week after being born to avoid being detected by predators. As hiders are isolated, they don't move around a lot and are mostly silent to avoid detection from predators, we thought kid calls would not necessarily be individualised and therefore not easy to recognise."
The scientists measured the individuality of calls and the vocal recognition during this 'hiding' phase (one week old) and later on after they had joined the social group, at five weeks old.
"Studying the link between vocal signals and species ecology can help us understand how animal communication evolves," Dr Briefer said. "We were surprised when we found that even at one week, both mothers and kids react more to calls from their own kids and mothers than those from other familiar goats. The ability of goats to recognise each other's calls and respond appropriately suggests some robust mechanisms of memorisation and recognition in goats. Studying how domestic livestock behave and communicate is very important for good animal welfare."
To many of us it may seem blatantly obvious that a mother goat and her baby would be able to recognise each others calls. Further, that they would also understand what they mean.
However, the more different another animals' language and communication is from our own;the less we can understand it. This doesn't mean it has any less meaning or significance to the animals involved, or that any less information is being conveyed. The reality is that other animals are likely to have evolved to communicate complex information appropriate for their survival, as is increasingly being demonstrated by scientific research. For example, here's a fascinating insight into what we are learning about prarie dog communication by observing and studying their natural behaviours.
We need to open our minds to the minds of other animals.