Acoustic features of vocalizations of Korean native cows (Bos taurus coreanea) in two different conditions

The purpose of this study was to analyze the acoustic features of vocalizations of Korean native cows (Bos taurus coreanea) and to examine the differences between estrus and feed anticipating vocalizations. The animals used in this experiment were 26 Korean native cows (Bos taurus coreanea). Eight cows were in estrus and 18 non-estrus cows were in a feed anticipating condition. Between 8 August 2001 and 1 July 2003 the vocalizations of cows in estrus were recorded in early morning, and the vocalizations of feed anticipating cows were recorded while the cows waited for feed at 1600 h. A 6 mm Camcorder was used for all recordings. Duration of a single feed anticipating call was 1.85 ± 0.79 s and of an estrus call was 1.86 ± 0.44 s (p = 0.701), varying with the individual cow. Intensity of a single feed anticipating call was 71.4 ± 6.2 dB and of an estrus call was 68.8 ± 4.2 dB (p < 0.001). The estrus call was a harsh and noisy call and the first formant (832 ± 150 Hz) was higher than that of the feed anticipating call (784 ± 127 Hz)(p = 0.001). However, the second formant (1570 ± 127 Hz) of the estrus call was lower than that of the feed anticipating call (1710 ± 166 Hz) (p < 0.001). The third and fourth formants of the estrus call were also lower than those of the feed anticipating call (p < 0.001).The results of this study indicate that analysis of vocalization could be an indicator of different physiological conditions in cows and may be an important role for understanding communications in Korean native cows