Giraffes humming could be keeping Devon residents awake at night

Residents near Paignton Zoo in Devon are possibly being kept awake at night by giraffes humming.

Neighbours have complained about the sound for over a year and thought it could be a boiler in the giraffe zoo.

See also: Outrage as giraffe dies after eating plastic litter thrown by tourists

To be good neighbours, the zoo vowed to check their equipment for the low-level sound but did not find anything.

According to the Torquay Herald Express, new research suggests the giraffes themselves could be to blame.

See also: Best ever giraffe photos

Experts say the animals can communicate in infrasound at frequencies too low for humans to hear.

According to the Daily Mirror, scientists say giraffes have a larynx but it is not clear how it is used.

The humming may be giraffes communicating with each other.

Angela Stoger of the University of Vienna, told New Scientist magazine: "I was fascinated, because these signals have a very interesting sound and have a complex acoustic structure."

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