I wish they'd played the sound of someone suckin down an oatmeal cream pie. That's data I could really use! I never talk in the woods
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Pretty interesting study
- Thread starter scn
- Start date
I can't express how many times I've been able to talk in a low tone on a radio while deer are within 30 yards of me. Not once have they ever turned an ear towards me. In fact, this lack of attention to the human voice has really been a conundrum. I would have expected violent reaction.
It's not just deer. When I was stationed in Alaska, one of my first in-briefings was with fish & game explaining the dangers of Alaska wildlife. Something the rep said stuck with me and proved quite true. He said if you encounter a bear or moose, it's quite possible the animal has never before encountered a human being so they're often curious. To spook them off, speak forcefully & purposefully to them like you would with a dog, and it usually will trigger a flight response. It actually works, even on grizzlies. Human voice triggers something.
While studying anthropology at NMSU I learned that hunting in cooperative parties and thereby needing audible communication is how humans initially developed language. While partially true, being a believer in creation I am more of a mind that God gave us the ability of language from the beginning, not something monkeys evolved into. That said, I do 100% believe animals' instinctive fear of the human voice likely does come from hunting parties. No doubt our ancestors were quiet as they combed the hunting grounds in search of prey, but soon as the attack began there would have been loud commands & acknowledgements being barked from multiple locations as they closed in for the kill. I'd say it was a whole lot like a modern deer drive. If I see deer but don't have a shot I will jump up & down, waving my arms yelling at the deer to turn them, then yell at the other hunters alerting them that deer are coming and where to be looking. That's the last thing some of those deer hear before dying, and the survivors learn. Over tens or hundreds of thousands of years it becomes part of their DNA, just like we humans have a natural fear of snakes. So while a low tone mumbling might not even twist an ear, a broadcasted business negotiation/conversation would likely be instantly terrifying because it means imminent death. Sure they can be conditioned to ignore the instinct just like we can learn to like snakes, but the instinct remains. With truly wild deer I could see how a human voice is the most terrifying sound it hears.
I agree with everything other than "natural fear of snakes". There is nothing natural about my fear of snakes. Kill all the danger noodles.It's not just deer. When I was stationed in Alaska, one of my first in-briefings was with fish & game explaining the dangers of Alaska wildlife. Something the rep said stuck with me and proved quite true. He said if you encounter a bear or moose, it's quite possible the animal has never before encountered a human being so they're often curious. To spook them off, speak forcefully & purposefully to them like you would with a dog, and it usually will trigger a flight response. It actually works, even on grizzlies. Human voice triggers something.
While studying anthropology at NMSU I learned that hunting in cooperative parties and thereby needing audible communication is how humans initially developed language. While partially true, being a believer in creation I am more of a mind that God gave us the ability of language from the beginning, not something monkeys evolved into. That said, I do 100% believe animals' instinctive fear of the human voice likely does come from hunting parties. No doubt our ancestors were quiet as they combed the hunting grounds in search of prey, but soon as the attack began there would have been loud commands & acknowledgements being barked from multiple locations as they closed in for the kill. I'd say it was a whole lot like a modern deer drive. If I see deer but don't have a shot I will jump up & down, waving my arms yelling at the deer to turn them, then yell at the other hunters alerting them that deer are coming and where to be looking. That's the last thing some of those deer hear before dying, and the survivors learn. Over tens or hundreds of thousands of years it becomes part of their DNA, just like we humans have a natural fear of snakes. So while a low tone mumbling might not even twist an ear, a broadcasted business negotiation/conversation would likely be instantly terrifying because it means imminent death. Sure they can be conditioned to ignore the instinct just like we can learn to like snakes, but the instinct remains. With truly wild deer I could see how a human voice is the most terrifying sound it hears.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I can see the difference. In the study, the sounds were broadcast at 70 Db. That's actually pretty loud. I would guess my radio conversations were way less than half that.So while a low tone mumbling might not even twist an ear, a broadcasted business negotiation/conversation would likely be instantly terrifying because it means imminent death.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
And, those "metallic" sounds are the main reason I don't like hunting from a metal ladder stand.Now make any metallic sound, even a very faint one, and deer blast away.
They have a tendency to make some loud "metallic" sounds on those cold, crisp mornings, as well as when you least expect it.
Immeasurable how many great mornings have been blown by a hunter climbing his ladder stand, spooking deer he never knew were hearing that. On those cold, crisp, windless mornings, deer 300-plus yds away may hear you "slipping" into your ladder stand.
Another sound I've found to badly spook deer is the tearing sound of velcro. Remove it from your deer-hunting clothes, replace with rubber buttons.
Mescalero
Well-Known Member
I don't know about this study. 70 decibels, "about as loud as your dishwasher". What does that mean? There are very quiet dishwashers and loud ones and numerous in between. I know "70 decibels", what does that mean? Would have been a better study using sound of Velcro, sound of climbing into a ladder stand, sound using a climbing stand, sound of a carabiner just touching metal oh so slightly, sound of a zipper on a backpack, sound of a twig snap, blowing your nose, or at least the sound I make whispering under my breath when I get pissed about something like "where the F is the stand" or "damn this tangled pull up rope."
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
I know this is about deer, but, I took an avid deer-hunting friend turkey hunting one time, trying to help him kill his first longbeard. The evening before, I had roosted two Toms.
We slipped in to under 100 yds of their roost tree before light. Turkey gobbles loudly on the roost, then he loudly pumps a shell into the chamber of his pump gun. Of course, we neither heard nor saw anything after that. Same guy would slam his truck door loudly when he got out to go hunting. Think he later became a vegetarian.
We slipped in to under 100 yds of their roost tree before light. Turkey gobbles loudly on the roost, then he loudly pumps a shell into the chamber of his pump gun. Of course, we neither heard nor saw anything after that. Same guy would slam his truck door loudly when he got out to go hunting. Think he later became a vegetarian.
70 decibels is also a vacuum cleaner. Big difference between dishwasher and vacuum cleaner. Decibels are the measurement of sound pressure level, but doesn't do a thing to indicate tonal frequency, which IMO is what actually matters in the study. For instance the screech of a crow and the roar of a lion are similar in sound pressure level, but which would make you poop your pants if you heard it right next to you?
