You ever came across this viral video online where two giraffes are fighting—apparently, as it’s unclear if they were playing only? To my surprise, though, I discovered that the only sounds were those of the wild and the thump made by the giraffes’ colliding necks. With further internet surfing, I came to know that they are one of the animals that are quiet. Animals that don’t utter any sound at all!
Hence, after some additional research, I came up with this article listing the 15 Quietest Animals in the World, which includes sharks, giraffes, jellyfish, worms, and lizards!
Continue reading to learn more about the animals that are quiet in the wild, devoid of vocal cords, and producing no sound at all. Also find out if that is a benefit or a drawback for them.
15 Animals That Are Quiet
1. Jellyfish
Moving like a jellyfish means you just go with the flow! Since jellyfish are among the deepest sea creatures, their movements are silent and perfectly smooth as they absolutely lack any vocal cords and a brain.
Their fascinating bioluminescent show is their only means of communication, attracting prey, or drawing attention.
And guess what? Not only do they lack sound cords, but their movements also make no sound. You wonder why?
As opposed to using propellers to travel across the water, jellyfish move silently since they don’t create cavitation bubbles like other fish.
2. Snails
Silent, sluggish, and curious, snails are indeed amazing creatures. Their absence of vocal cords accounts for their inclusion on our list of animals that are quiet.
Though I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard them, snails do, in fact, make noise! Their only sounds are mechanical ones, however, such as when they eat something or retreat inside their shells.
3. Worms
These invertebrate animals that live in soil or water bodies range in size from microscopically tiny to more than three feet in length.
These organisms have a basic physiology, lacking lungs and breathing through their skin, much like other invertebrates. They also have no vocal cords.
Worms can, however, communicate with one another by taste and touch. Moreover, they can identify predators and escape danger thanks to their capacity to sense vibrations in the ground.
4. Slugs
A slug, or land slug, is a common nickname for any seemingly shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusk. Slugs cannot deliberately produce sound to communicate. They don’t actively create noise other than when they move and brush against the ground.
Additionally, because of their super slimy bodies, there isn’t enough friction to actually hear them after all. It should come as no surprise that this animal is among the quietest in the world—you might never hear a sound from them.
5. Butterflies
Pheromones, which male butterflies create to seduce females, are the primary way of communication between adult butterflies because they do not talk! However, only a few of them use clicking sounds to communicate.
Moreover, because a butterfly’s wings are bigger, lighter, and more aerodynamic, it only needs to flap its wings at a frequency of 8 to 12 hertz. The sound that results is far too low for human hearing. See? Now you know the reason behind their swift flight.
6. Lizards
Lizards! It’s possible that you’ve never noticed, but your creepy homies do not talk! Yet they never appear to be leaving you on your own, either inside or outside of your homes.
Though they are renowned for many things, conversing isn’t one of them. It is uncommon to hear lizard noises because only a small percentage of the approximately 5,000 species have vocal sounds. Of all the common species, geckos are the chattiest, though, using a range of chirps, squeaks, and clicking sounds to communicate.
7. Giraffes
For a long time, scientists thought giraffes were incapable of verbal communication. Given the length of their necks, people reasoned that it would be challenging to push enough air past their voice boxes to produce any sound other than a snort.
However, it turns out that giraffes hum to one another at night. Yet it’s just that the sounds they make are so low that it’s hard for humans to hear them.
Furthermore, giraffes are physically able to produce sound due to the presence of vocal cords in their larynx, unlike most animals on this list.
8. Goldfish
One of the most popular aquarium fish is the goldfish, a freshwater fish that is frequently kept as a pet in indoor aquariums to add some charm.
Now, in contrast to what many think, not all fish make noise. Many other fish species can make different sounds, but goldfish, who rank among the quietest creatures, are incapable of vocalizing.
It is only a rare case scenario that you may hear popping noises coming from your goldfish tank. Furthermore, this is a common phenomenon among certain fish species, especially goldfish. It happens when air bubbles get stuck in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).
9. Turtles
It may surprise you to learn that the most common sound made by turtles is hissing. Most turtle sounds are too low-pitched for the human ear to ever even slightly hear. There are sounds made by turtles, but they are too short and too quiet for us to perceive them.
And for this reason alone, turtles deserve a place in our list of the 15 animals that are quiet. Turtles know how to communicate nonverbally to convey a range of information despite lacking vocal cords.
10. Sharks
Were you aware that sharks are the definition of silent but deadly?
They don’t make any audible noises and have no vocal cords at all. Rather, they use movement to communicate. No wonder this ability is a threat to other fish communities around the shark’s territory.
Not only do sharks lack sound organs, but their scales are altered to enable them to drift through the water in a soundless manner like a ghost.
11. Sloths
Originally from Central and South America‘s tropical forests, sloths are odd creatures.
With a mere pace of one foot per minute, they rank among the slowest on the planet!
Sloths are not only extremely slow, but also remarkably silent creatures entirely lacking vocal cords. Nonetheless, when scared or left alone, baby sloths have been found to make high-frequency squeaks. Adults, on the other hand, often make low-pitched noises that are connected to anxiety or tension.
12. Rabbits
As rabbits lack vocal cords, they do not cry out or yell to attract attention. You should be aware that a rabbit will only scream when it senses its death approaching and feels that air is being expelled from its lungs.
Rabbits do make sounds, but it is rare. Are you wondering why? Since they are little, easily startled creatures that serve as prey. They communicate by making little noises and using body language; not to be noisy enough to attract the attention of potential predators.
13. Deer
Even though deer are capable of speech, they never use it! Vocalizations are only a minor part of their entire communication system; body language, scent marking, and visual clues are their primary means of communication.
However, deer can produce a few vocal noises with their vocal cords; they sound somewhat like goats or lambs, even if you might never hear them in your life.
They do, by nature, remain silent most of the time, but occasionally doe will “talk” to her child., but only if you are pretty close to hearing them. And if you hear this, they are probably not aware of you.
14. Snakes
You might be wondering why snakes are on the list given that we have known since our childhood who makes the “hissing” sound. Here’s a shocking fact to stun everyone:Â snakes don’t have vocal cords. Still, they produce noises!
Their glottis forces air through, giving them their famous hissing sound. Additionally, snakes can produce sound by rubbing or rattling their scales.
The pine snake is, however, the lone exception to this rule. Despite rarely using its vocal cords, this snake species is the only one known to possess them and is nonetheless regarded as a rather calm creature anyway.Â
As a ground rule, snakes employ chemical signals to identify other snakes in their surroundings rather than speaking to one another.
15. Owls
The majority of owls hunt during the silent and dark hours, picking up on the smallest rustles and squeaks to locate mice or voles. For their meal hunting, any flight noise that could alert their target would be disastrous. Therefore, sound control is tailored within their feathery architecture.
The owl’s specialized feathers change air turbulence and absorb noise, allowing for almost silent flying.
As a result, they have earned the reputation of being silent nighttime predators since they can fly within inches of their target without being noticed. We have listed them among the top 15 animals that are quiet because of the silence of their flight only.
However, please note that owls make many loud, continuous sounds, including hoots, barks, whistles, coos, and cries. Even though they lack vocal cords; they make sounds using a structure called syrinx.
Conclusion
After exploring the natural world and the most silent creatures on our planet, here we conclude our blog post with a list of the 15 animals that are quiet in the wilderness. Though they are mostly peaceful or they may not communicate through vocalization, it must not go unnoticed how fascinating they are.
FAQs
Q1. What animal is very quiet?
Ans. There are a lot of animals that are very quiet. Additionally, 15 of the world’s quietest creatures are included here in the list. However, some animals—like goldfish, sharks, hermit crabs, snails, and worms—cannot make sound. Other creatures that are quiet include lizards, turtles, snakes, and rabbits.
Q2. Which animal walks quietest?
Ans. Although it may surprise you, among the creatures that move most swiftly and quietly are enormous predators like elephants, grizzly and brown bears, tigers, and leopards. They have the ability to navigate through thick bushes almost silently.
Q3. What animals are shy and quiet?
Ans. It’s sloth, according to Quora! Sloths are reclusive, shy, and private creatures that like to be by themselves. They are also famous for being incredibly at ease and happy. But there are also other creatures, such as giant pandas, deer, skunks, and squirrels, who would be very uncomfortable with you getting too close. Indeed, among the timid creatures, owls and rabbits occupy the same space, too.
Q4. Are elephants silent?
Ans. Elephants generate sounds that are mostly inaudible to humans, even though they may seem like some of the loudest animals on Earth because of their trumpet-like calls. They can communicate over distances of up to 10 kilometers by producing infra-sounds, which are low-frequency noises between 1 and 20 Hertz.
References:
Why Do Goldfish Make Popping Noises
What Sound Does a Giraffe Make?
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Anjali Prasad, a B. Pharm. graduate who works as a content writer for HowItSee, is based in Delhi. Except for her, not many people take the typical road from healthcare to writing. Her love of writing stemmed from her involvement in the college literature society and her early journaling at the age of 7. Hence, the love of learning and the spirit of exploration are what drew her to this career. You can find her on common social media like Instagram.