Comments | piper_trickster: Real life singing mice!

gryphonsegg in piper_trickster

Real life singing mice!

Apr 29, 2011 10:02

New research reveals that RL mice are a lot more musical than most people suspected. The songs are just too high-pitched for humans to hear without specialized tech. Some of them sound a lot like whale courtship songs, except at the opposite end of the pitch spectrum. I wonder what rat songs are like.

Comments 7

karunya April 29 2011, 16:21:19 UTC

Something popped up in my Easter-saturated brain while I was contemplating this article ( ... )

madripoor_rose April 29 2011, 17:37:54 UTC

awesome awesome rat-fic.

kansan_entrails April 30 2011, 02:42:11 UTC

I am blown away by your amazingness.

iesika April 30 2011, 00:53:18 UTC

Rats make a broad range of really interesting and communicative noises. Even what's in the human range can tell you a lot about what they're feeling. If you're around pet rats - particularly groups of them - a lot, you learn to read their moods from their sounds without even having to look at their (super expressive) body language.

karunya April 30 2011, 21:13:35 UTC

This is true of most domesticated animal species. Over the years, I've been constantly amazed by the communicative skills, not just of the larger animals such as cats, dogs, and parrots, but also of the "pocket pets" such as guinea pigs, hamsters, and parakeets. I'm still waiting for the right rat to come along (since we're 100% animal-rescue in my household, this means adoption, and for some reason nobody is relinquishing rats to the local shelters lately). But knowing guinea pigs as I do, I can only imagine that rats will be even more awesome!

iesika April 30 2011, 21:32:44 UTC

Rats are the most awesome! Of all the small animals frequently kept as pets, they are by far my favorite. They are smart and social and affectionate - they crave your company.

Sadly, though, they are susceptible to some serious health problems if not properly cared for - a rat that wasn't being loved and taken care of probably wouldn't survive to make it to the shelter. Even a rat in perfect health with perfect care won't live past three years or so. ;_; Which is why I've stopped keeping them. I grieve too hard.

karunya April 30 2011, 23:45:05 UTC

Yup, that's the hard part about rescuing the little ones, especially those who have been neglected in their previous homes. Their personalities are so endearing, but their lifespans are so short. I'm still grieving my most-beloved companion animal ever: Rather Beadog, a guinea pig whose personality inspired his name, and who passed away after five wonderful years of doing visitation work with me at schools, libraries, and nursing homes.