Background: Among mammals living in social groups, individuals form communication networks where they signal their identity and social status, facilitating social interaction. In spite of its importance for understanding of mammalian societies, the coding of individual-related information in the vocal signals of non-primate mammals has been relatively neglected. The present study focuses on the spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta, a social carnivore known for its complex female-dominated society. We investigate if and how the well-known hyena's laugh, also known as the giggle call, encodes information about the emitter.
Results: By analyzing acoustic structure in both temporal and frequency domains, we show that the hyena's laugh can encode information about age, individual identity and dominant/subordinate status, providing cues to receivers that could enable assessment of the social position of an emitting individual.
Conclusions: The range of messages encoded in the hyena's laugh is likely to play a role during social interactions. This call, together with other vocalizations and other sensory channels, should ensure an array of communication signals that support the complex social system of the spotted hyena. Experimental studies are now needed to decipher precisely the communication network of this species.