Animal Senses

Many animals see the world completely differently to us, perceiving colours and images that we can only guess at. Being able to see helps animals locate food, move around, find mates and avoid predators, whether they live at the bottom of the ocean or soar high in the sky. Eyesight is important for most animals and nearly all animals can see – 95% of all species have eyes.

However, only two animal groups have evolved the ability to hear – vertebrates like mammals, birds and reptiles, and arthropods, such as insects, spiders and crabs. No other animals can hear.

Some animals have a remarkable sense of hearing, finely tuned to where and how they live. Many animals hear sounds that we cannot. Some are too high-pitched for us to hear, others too low. It is hard to imagine what this noisier world sounds like to other animals.

Our senses of smell and taste are feeble compared to those of many other animals. A keen sense of smell allows animals to find food and mates, as well as to stay out of danger. It can stop an animal wandering into a rival’s territory or help it find its way.

Taste, touch and supersenses

Animals have also evolved a wide variety of touch organs, including whiskers and antennae, which they use to navigate, find food or even to communicate.

Some animals live in complete darkness in caves or underground, where they cannot see anything. Their eyes often no longer work, but they have developed an extra-sensitive sense of touch to feel their way around.

Some animals have evolved super senses that are outside our experience: can you imagine being able to detect electricity or magnetic fields, or to ‘see’ with sound?

Communication and deception

A pack of wolves howls in the dark forest. Two Pallas’ cats rub heads as they greet each other. When animals communicate, they are usually passing on important information. Communication is vital for finding mates, warning off rivals and predators, finding food and maintaining social groups.

Animals communicate using visual signals, sounds, touch, smells and taste. Vision, touch and taste work well over short distances, but sounds travel much further and scent marks can last long after the animal has moved on.

Sometimes the aim is to deceive. Blending into the background, pretending to be a twig or playing dead – animals give out all sorts of false information to avoid danger or help catch their next meal. Their tricks and deceptions vary from camouflage and mimicry to distracting, startling, scaring and confusing others.