Animal Sonar

It's amazing to discover that the ocean is full of sound just like being in the middle of a busy city. There's a unique way for animals to communicate with each other and that is through sonar. Sonar is a system in which objects are detected by sound waves. These waves are very high in frequency and are called ultrasonic. Ultrasound waves have frequencies above 20 kHz. Few animals can hear ultrasonic waves. Some of the animals that can hear them are dogs, cats, porpoises, rodents, whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions and bats. Let’s have an overview on how some of these animals use sonar in their daily activities.

1) Oilbirds and some species of swiftlets are known to use a relatively crude form of echolocation compared to that of bats and dolphins. These nocturnal birds emit calls while flying and use the calls to navigate through trees and caves where they live.

2) All whales are capable of making sounds, and maybe of ‘singing’, but only the toothed whales can use sonar. The information they can glean from these reflections allows them to ‘see’ through murky water and in the dark. They can even see into the sediment on the sea-bed, and probably into one-another.

3) Bats emit ultrasonic sounds ranging from 20 to 100 kHz. The sounds are emitted through the bats' mouth or nostrils and are aided by a complex flap-structure to provide directivity. The echo that returns from such emissions enable the bats to pick out tiny flying insects from some distance. The bats can also determine the size, location, density and movement of an object. Thus, in a dark cave with stalactites and stalagmites, bats can find their way home easily.

Overall, sonar system are very useful to animals as it help them to navigate their way, detect preys and communicate with each other. The creation of Allah is indeed beyond human advancement. We are still new to this sonar system yet the animals are an expert user. Hopefully, with more observations, research, and creativity we'll be able to learn more from these marvelous creatures!