There was a study conducted that shows goats may be able to detect vocal cues in human voices. According to research done by Professor Alan McElligott, goats are able to tell the difference between happy voices and angry voices. Goats in the study were more inclined to take longer time looking towards the source of when the playback went from happy to angry and angry to happy. The reasoning behind conducting this trial is that research found and conducted by Professor McElligott shows that goats can perceive emotional expressions made by humans.
When the goats were exposed to playbacks that expressed either happy or angry voices. 75% of the goats that were exposed to the playbacks showed a distinct reaction to the playbacks. This suggests that the goats were able to notice the change in the emotional context. Some goats did not respond to the voices the same way as other goats. Many failed to respond at all to the playbacks. This might be because discrepancies in the cognitive abilities of the goats.
This study is a key piece in adding to our knowledge of animal behaviors. Since goats and other farm animals have contact with human voices daily, it is important to find more on this topic. Negatively balanced voices may have a cause fear or negative emotions in animals. While goats may be pleased by positively balanced voices.
RELATED ARTICLES:
https://interestingengineering.com/science/goats-happy-sad-human-voices
https://phys.org/news/2024-01-goats-happy-angry-voice.html
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000334722300307
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/01/240130133639.htm
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