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Series exploring animal senses beyond human perception. Sound - how alligators use low-pitch rumbles, how bats see with sound, and a hearing test for a herd of elephants.

Our human senses are pretty incredible - but we only see, hear and smell a tiny fraction of what's out there. There is a hidden world that animals across the globe can experience.

Presenters Helen Czerski and Patrick Aryee journey through the world of sound - from the deepest rumbles to the highest squeaks. Using specialised technology, they experience sounds beyond the range of our human hearing.

This episode reveals how alligators use low-pitch rumbles to make the water around them dance and shows what it is like to be a bat and to see with sound. Also, Helen and Patrick convert a classic camper van into a giant speaker to conduct the ultimate hearing test for a herd of elephants.

59 minutes

Clips

Music Played

  • The xx

    Fiction

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Patrick Aryee
Presenter Helen Czerski
Series Producer Alex Williamson
Producer Sam Hodgson
Director Sam Hodgson
Executive Producer Tim Martin

Broadcasts

Meet Helen and Patrick

Helen Czerski, physicist, and Patrick Aryee, biologist

The senses

Read more about how animals perceive the world.