Vol. 9, Special Issue 2 (2024)

Author(s): Spectrum analysis of buffaloes acoustic signature for their individuality identification

Abstract: The vocal behavior of animals holds promise as an indicator of their physiological and psychological states, offering insights that can enhance livestock management and welfare assessment. With this conjecture, a study was planned to explore whether the bio-acoustic features of Murrah buffaloes' vocal signature could serve as markers of individuality. 25 buffaloes were selected for vocal signal recording, and their vocalizations were analyzed using PRAAT software. The analysis of 1250 voice samples from the buffalo subjects uncovered notable distinctions across a range of bio-acoustic characteristics, including amplitude (minimum, maximum, and mean), total energy, pitch (minimum, maximum, range, and mean), intensity (mean, minimum, and maximum), formants (F1, F2, F3, and F4), number of pulse, number of periods, unvoiced frames, degree of voice breaks, jitter, shimmer, mean noise/harmonic ratio, and mean harmonic/noise ratio (p<0.001). Upon further scrutiny, it became evident that only a specific subset of acoustic features demonstrated statistically significant differences (p<0.05) among individual buffaloes. These included the number of pulses, pitch, jitter, shimmer, degree of voice breaks, and formants (F1, F2, F3, and F4). This finding suggests that these particular features hold promise for noninvasively distinguishing the individual identities of buffaloes based on their vocal signatures, even within a sizable herd. In summary, the study highlights the potential of leveraging vocal signatures for individual identification in Murrah buffaloes, paving the way for improved livestock management practices and welfare assessment techniques.