How do elephants produce such a range of sounds?
Sound is produced as air expelled from the lungs is passed over the vocal chords or larynx, a structure in elephants some 7.5 cm long. The moving air causes the vocal chords to vibrate at a particular frequency depending upon the type of sound the elephant is making. By lengthening or shortening the vocal chords an elephant can produce a wide range of frequencies. The column of air vibrates in the elephant’s extended vocal tract or resonating chamber and, depending upon how the elephant holds the various components of this chamber (trunk, mouth, tongue, pharyngeal pouch, larynx) it is able to modify and amplify different components of the sound. Certain calls by elephants are associated with particular postures of the head and ears. It is our belief that, by holding its head in a certain posture and by flapping its ears in a particular rhythm and angle an elephant is able to affect the musculature around the larynx, thus modifying a particular call to achieve the desired sound. Listen
