Mother deer's responses to a crying baby cross species lines

Humans are known to answer the distress calls of their cats and dogs -- and there have been studies that show the furry friends may do the same for their people.

That connection, though, has mostly been regarded as being associated with domestication. Researchers recently found that the explanation for the phenomenon may not be that simple, as responses to the cries of infants from various species were observed in deer.

For their experiments the team found an area of Canadian prairie that mother deer were known to frequent. Through a number of hidden speakers they played the cries of several kinds of animal infants. They included the wailing of humans, cats, dogs, and fur seals.

In many cases, the female deer reacted to the sounds by rushing to the area of the source. Researchers believe it's a matter of frequency as all the calls that were answered were in the same range as a newborn deer.

It's said the findings suggest that many different types of animals may experience -- and thus recognize -- similar emotional states.

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