Research shows meerkats use voice recognition

Zurich researchers have established for the first time that wild meerkats can recognise other group members by the sounds they make.

The Zurich University behaviour biologists studied meerkats in the Kalahari desert in Africa for the experiment. Vocal communication is vital for meerkats, who use their calls to warn of approaching predators and to coordinate their activities.

Certain primates can recognise sounds but until now it has been unclear whether other mammals living in social groups can do the same.

For the study, researchers experimented with recordings to test the meerkats’ responses.

The Zurich researchers had already managed to decipher types of meerkat calls.