Why does cows moo

The researchers identified two broad call types—a low-frequency nasal call for close-contact or times of low distress and a high-frequency call from the mouth for distant communication and times of high arousal. The purpose of these calls, they say, is to allow each of the individual cows to maintain contact with the others.

It enables them to express their emotions, whether they happen to be feeling excited, aroused, engaged or distressed. Researchers are finding more and more evidence of vocal calls like these across species—for example, in pigs , horses and wild boar. But while it was known that female cows and their calves could communicate via individualized voicing, this study suggests they maintain individualized voicing throughout their lifetime.

A wag of their tail can also help communicate to animals around them. When its tail is between its legs, the animal may be cold. A wagging tail could also mean it is in pain or just irritated. Cows also use their tails to swat away flies and sometimes calves wag their tails when they are nursing.

Maybe the next time you pass a herd of mooing cows you can think about all the different communication that is going on out there in the pasture. In fact, your question leaves me with even more questions about animal communication. Why does a bat screech? A bee buzz? Or an elephant trumpet? What is your favorite animal? University of Nottingham. Queen Mary University of London. Image source, Getty Images. Three moo calls identified. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Listen to a low frequency call, high frequency call and a calf call. Low frequency calls LFCs were produced by cows when they were in close proximity to their calves, in the three or four weeks after birth. These were quiet and were made with the mouth closed or only partially open. Louder high frequency calls HFCs were produced by cows when they were separated from their calves not in visual contact and preceded nursing.