Animal Sound Perception: Which Species Have the Best Hearing Ability?

Hearing is an ability that allows us to communicate with those around us and interact with our environment. In humans, the average hearing range is from 20 to 20,000 Hertz. Meanwhile, many species of animals have much better hearing than we do.

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/ Ilia Ustyantsev)

Here are some of the animals with far more impressive hearing range.

Pigeons (0.5 - 6,860 Hertz)

Pigeons can hear infrasound or sound lower in frequency than humans. Scientists believe that pigeons use this exceptional ability as part of their remarkable in-built navigation system. By hearing sounds as low as 0.5 Hertz, they can detect distant earthquakes, storms, and even volcanoes. In fact, pigeons are considered the best navigators in the animal kingdom.

Owl (200 - 12,000 Hertz)

Owls are avian champions in terms of vision and hearing. They rely on these two senses to hunt for prey at night.

Birds typically have their ear openings located behind, slightly below their eyes. Owls' ear openings are higher and lower to aid them in locating prey at night. Due to the difference in the location of the ear openings, an owl can hear a sound at two slightly different times.

Horse (14 - 33,500 Hertz)

In every herd of horses, there is always at least one lookout that warns others of potential dangers that may be around them. The main functions of a horse's hearing are to find the sound, detect where it comes from, identify the kind of sound, and know whether it is time to warn the herd or not.

Dog (67 - 45,000 Hertz)

Dogs can identify sounds 800 meters away, meaning they can hear the sound of their owner's car returning home and be at the front door, wagging their tails to meet them. The man's best friend can hear up to 45,000 Hertz, so ultrasonic whistles can be used for dog training.

Cats (48 - 85,000 Hertz)

A cat's hearing range is one of the broadest among mammals. In fact, cats can hear lower and higher frequencies better than dogs. Their ears are also mechanically remarkable. While a human ear consists of three muscles and the three smallest bones in the body, a cat's ears are controlled by about three dozen muscles per ear. These allow cats to rotate their ears 180 degrees.

Dolphin (2 - 200,000 Hertz)

Just like bats, dolphins use echolocation to hear. A dolphin emits sound in the form of a squeak, which bounces off surfaces and back to its lower jaw. The bouncing back of sound vibrations gives the dolphin a map of what might lie ahead.

Moth (Up to 300,000 Hertz)

The Greater Wax Moth (Galleria mellonella) has the best hearing in the animal kingdom. Its hearing range is 15 times higher than the highest-pitched sounds that humans can detect.

Experts believe this moth species developed such sensitive hearing to escape its predator, the bat. Bats are known for using high-frequency echolocation to hunt, but the more incredible wax moths can hear their calls, allowing them to escape predators.