Researchers say these rodents sing in order to mark their territory

Sep 27, 2013 19:36 GMT  ·  By
Researchers say mice in Central America produce high-pitched vocalizations to communicate with one another
   Researchers say mice in Central America produce high-pitched vocalizations to communicate with one another

Two mice species currently inhabiting Costa Rica's and Panama's cloud forests would've made perfect pets for the von Trapps. Apparently, these rodents sing on a fairly regular basis. What's more, they do so in order to avoid getting into fights with one another.

Researchers say that, despite the fact that they live in the same forests, these two species of mice, i.e. Alston's singing mouse and the Chiriqui singing mouse, have very precise territories that do not overlap.

By the looks of it, the two mice species establish their territories by serenading each other, Live Science tells us.

Thus, Alson's singing mouse males often produce a series of high-pitched vocalizations that are intended to keep rivals belonging to the other species at bay, and vice versa.

The researchers believe that the two rodent species have developed this system to communicate with one another in order to avoid confrontations and having to compete for the same food sources.