Michelle Dickinson: Study discovers elephants can squeak when scared

When you ask people what sound they think an elephant makes, they probably imagine a big, roaring trumpet sound. Elephants are famously loud and low-pitched – sometimes so low-pitched that humans can’t even hear them – and that makes sense for a gigantic animal that can weigh up to seven tons.Larger animals make lower frequency sounds thanks to a general rule that states "the larger the vocal fold, the lower the sound frequency and the size of the vocal folds sets an upper limit to the frequency that can be reached". Basically, big animals can't make high pitched sounds.However, some elephants can squeak when they are scared! Their squeak can reach as high as 2300 Hz which makes no scientific sense.Nanogirl Michelle Dickinson joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss the new study and how scientists were able to capture the squeaking sound.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.