Original data.

The rock cavy, a social rodent, emits alarm calls to signal danger. These calls are believed to be adjusted depending on the type of predator and the urgency of the threat. To confirm this, we aimed to compare the acoustic responses of free-range Kerodon rupestris in different threat contexts. The study was conducted in two conservation units located in the Brazilian semiarid region known as the Caatinga. All alarm calls were collected using the ad libitum method. Calls were classified through aural and visual inspection using Raven Pro software. Discriminant function analysis was applied to test the classification of vocal types. To assess differences in vocalization quantities and acoustic parameters, generalized mixed linear models were used, followed by Tukey post hoc tests when appropriate. Our results showed that rock cavies emitted two vocal types (alarm whistle and fast alarm whistle) in threat contexts. It was observed that both the type of threat and the proximity of the threat affected the intervals between pulses of the alarm whistles. Rocky cavies emitted alarm whistles with longer intervals between pulses when faced with threats from humans and dogs than birds of prey, tayra and ocelot. When the threat was closer, the rocky cavies emitted alarm whistles with shorter intervals between pulses. Fast alarm whistles were emitted only by rock cavy close to potential hunting predators. This study highlights that the distance from the threat and different threats influence adjustments in K. rupestris alarm calls. The rock cavy signals higher-degree dangers by emitting faster calls with shorter intervals between pulses.