Male European badger churrs: Insights into call function and motivational basis

Abstract

Determining the contexts of emission and information content of vocal signals can yield insights into the function of different call types, and remains an important step towards understanding the diversification of mammalian vocal repertoires. In this study, we used infra-red video cameras and remote audio recorders to document seasonal and contextual variation in male European badger (Meles meles) churr production over a 24-month period, and acoustic analysis based on source-filter theory to examine whether churr acoustic structure varies according to the caller’s arousal state and identity….