Ranking who has the best ears in the animal kingdom is a tough task, but some animals push the limits of hearing far beyond what humans can imagine.
As night falls, a bat darts through the sky, sending out rapid, high-pitched calls and listening for the returning echoes to guide its way through the dark. These ultrasonic chirps are far too high for humans — or most other animals — to hear. But one small insect, the greater wax moth, can pick them up easily. In fact, this moth holds the record for the highest known hearing range in the animal kingdom, detecting frequencies up to 300 kilohertz, nearly 15 times higher than the human limit. Thanks to this super-hearing, the moth can sense a bat approaching and veer away just in time.
Both bats and moths are often highlighted for their extraordinary auditory abilities. But in the larger animal world, which creatures truly have the “best” hearing?
According to Christine Köppl, a professor at the University of Oldenburg in Germany, there’s no single answer. “What is ‘best’ is always relative,” she explained. Hearing involves many components — from sensitivity to subtle sounds, to distinguishing between frequencies, to locating where a sound is coming from. Different species excel in different ways, making comparisons tricky. Still, some animals are standout examples.
Hunters of silence: Owls
Barn owls (Tyto alba) are a prime example of hearing adapted for survival. Their auditory system is perfectly tuned for night hunting, allowing them to detect even the faintest scurrying of prey under leaves or snow.
Two key features help owls achieve this: the facial disk of feathers that funnels sound toward their ears, and the slight asymmetry of ear placement — one ear sits higher than the other. This design means sounds reach each ear at slightly different times, giving owls an extraordinary ability to pinpoint the exact location of their prey in near-total darkness.
Echo-locators: Bats and dolphins
Despite living in completely different habitats, bats and dolphins share one remarkable adaptation — echolocation. By sending out sound pulses and analyzing the returning echoes, both animals can build detailed “maps” of their surroundings.
“Dolphins and bats aren’t just listening — they’re actively imaging their environment,” said Darlene Ketten, a researcher at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Their natural sonar is so advanced it often outperforms human technology.
Bats rely on large external ears to catch sound and highly specialized brain regions to process auditory data, much like how humans devote large parts of our brains to vision. Dolphins, on the other hand, have evolved to hear in water: they channel sound through fatty tissues in their jaws, bypassing the small external ear openings. Both species also have built-in mechanisms to dampen the sound of their own calls, preventing them from deafening themselves.
Masters of two worlds: Pinnipeds
When it comes to versatility, few animals rival pinnipeds — the group that includes seals, sea lions, and walruses. These marine mammals must excel in both air and water, an enormous challenge since sound travels differently through each medium.
“Pinnipeds can do what seems almost impossible — hear exceptionally well both above and below water,” said Brandon Southall, a marine biologist and president of Southall Environmental Associates.
On land, some seals can detect faint noises nearly as well as owls. In the ocean, their underwater hearing rivals dolphins’. To achieve this dual ability, pinnipeds adjust the conditions in their middle ear: while diving, they fill it with blood to let sound travel smoothly through liquid; back on land, air returns, restoring sensitivity to sounds in air. Southall has even observed seals responding to the crunch of snow from over a mile away.