S2E3: Rhythmic Indri Lemurs

In this this episode we talk about indri lemurs and their interesting sounds and rhythms. In this season Hannah Hunter joins Claudia as the co-host of The Animal Highlight, teaching us all about “Animals and Sound.” This season was extracted from Season 4 of The Animal Turn Podcast. 

 Featured: 

• Bioacoustics with Mickey Vallee on The Animal Turn. 
• Indri Lemur sound recording by  Mark H. Barsamian and Macaulay Library at the Cornell lab of Ornithology. 
• Giant Lemurs are the First Mammals beside us found to use Rhythm by Jack Tamisiea. 

 Credits:

• Claudia Hirtenfelder, producer and host 
• Hannah Hunter, co-host
• Christiaan Mentz, sound editor and producer 
• Rebecca Shen, content producer and designer (logo and episode artwork)
• Gordon Clarke, bed music composer
• Learn more about the team here. 

Support the podcast via: 

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/join/TheAnimalTurn 
• Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/theanimalturn 
• Buzzsprout: https://theanimalturn.buzzsprout.com/ 

 Sponsor:

• Thank you to the sponsors of the fourth season of The Animal Turn podcast, “Animals and Sound,” where this animal highlight was originally aired in October 2021. 

A.P.P.L.E
Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities.

The Sonic Arts of Place Laboratory
The SAP Lab provides workspace and equipment for students engaged in sound related activities.

Sonic Arts Studio
The Queen’s Sonic Arts Studio (formerly Electroacoustic Music Studio) was founded in 1970.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:42 Madagascar
• 2:30 Facts about Indri Lemurs
• 3:06 Indri Lemur Songs
• 6:20 Indri Lemurs have rhythm
• 8:16 Critically endangered
• 8:56 Credits

Transcript

00:00 - Introduction 

• Welcome to Season 2 of The Animal Highlight. 
• This first season is focused on “Animals and Sound” and was extracted from Season 4 of The Animal Turn Podcast. Episode: Bioacoustics with Mickey Vallee. 
• This season I am joined with a co-host, Hannah Hunter. A PhD Candidate in Geography at Queen’s University and a member of the Sonic Arts of Place Laboratory.
• This episode focuses on indri lemurs. 

01:42 – Madagascar

• When you think of indri lemurs you might think about indri lemurs and the iconic song “I like to move it”
• Indri lemurs are only found in Madagascar. They are critically endangered. 
• Madagascar is one of the only places you will find a wild lemur. 

02:30 – Indri Lemur

• The indri lemur is the largest of the lemurs, about 60-70cms long. 
• They are blank and white with long arms and legs. 
• They almost look like they fly when they jump from tree to tree with their long legs. 
• These primates are related to humans and have cool songs. 

03:06 – Indri Lemur songs

• “They sound a bit like a shriek of a balloon quickly releasing air” 
• “Other say they sound a bit like the cross between a humpback whale and a crying baby”
• Talking to Mickey Vallee about how before recording technology people would describe bird song. Even though we can record indri lemurs there are still times when you have to describe their sounds.  
• Hannah’ phonetic attempt to describe the song of an indri lemur: “ooh ah, ah ooh.” “That doesn’t do it justice. It’s quite dramatic.”
• Indri Lemur sound recording by  Mark H. Barsamian and Macaulay Library at the Cornell lab of Ornithology. 
• Indri lemurs have laryngeal air sacs that allow them to make these sounds.
• “Very striking sounds”
• “What’s interesting about them is that they are the only kind of lemur that can sing.” Other lemurs make barks and hisses. 
• “Every time you read about the indri lemur’s song the word song is in scare quotes…but it is technically a song.”
• “Indri lemurs are one of the planet’s loudest mammals. Their sounds can be heard up to 1.2 miles away.”
• The song pattern was described by a bio-acoustics researcher in 1986 and he said that “each song is introduced by this communal roar” and then a select group of adults sing with each other in synchronized manners. 

06:20 – Lemurs have Rhythm

• A recent article in the New York Times (Giant Lemurs are the First Mammals beside us found to use Rhythm by Jack Tamisiea)  which described some research that found lemurs have rhythm. 
• This is the first time that a mammal other than humans has been described as having rhythm so this is a huge discovery. 
• The researchers recorded sounds from 30 animals for 12 years, they searched the songs for rhythmic features found in human music. 
• Musical cognition is prone to human exceptionalism, “we think we are the only ones who can make music” but seeing how other mammal are capable of it to might help us appreciate them more. 

08:16 – Critically endangered

• The species is critically endangered due to habitat loss and illegal hunting. 
• The culture of indri lemurs is also being lost. 

08:56 - Credits

• Thank you to Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law and Ethics for sponsoring The Animal Turn Podcast.
• Thank you also to the Sonic Arts Studio and the Sonic Arts of Place Laboratory who were sponsors for the fourth season of The Animal Turn podcast that was focused on “Animals and Sound” where these animal highlights were extracted from. 
• A big thank you to Hannah Hunter for co-hosting this season of The Animal Highlight
• This episode was produced and hosted by Claudia Hirtenfelder and edited by Christiaan Mentz. 
• The logo and episode artwork were created by Rebecca Shen. 
• Show notes compiled by Claudia Hirtenfelder