Noise pollution may disrupt breeding for captive rhinos in urban areas

BBC : Although landscape and diet have been well researched for most animals in zoos and other types of wildlife centers, noise levels have not. And for some animals, such as the rhinoceros, which can hear sounds at much lower frequencies than humans can, the chronic infrasound of urban environments may be affecting captive animals’ behavior, particularly their breeding and reproduction rates. At the fall meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Suzi Wiseman of Texas State University and colleagues presented their findings regarding the varying soundscapes of zoos. The researchers have been studying various facilities, both those where rhinos breed well and those where they do not, in order to devise a system of acoustic parameters to improve rhino habitats. They hope their findings will benefit not only endangered species but all animals, wild and domestic, that are experiencing human encroachment.