“Ducks go quack, and fish go blub — and the seal goes ow-ow-ow. But there’s one sound that no one knows.”

Besides filling our lives with joy and inspiration and ridiculing modern pop culture, the song “The Fox,” written by a pair of Norwegian talk show hosts who refer to themselves as Ylvis, raises some pretty important questions.

What exactly does the fox say?

Ylvis suggests many possible answers, from the cheerful “Wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow” to the eerie “a-hee-a-hee-a-hee.” And we laugh along with them, while they dance in their absurd fox suits — and obviously as the elephant goes “toot.” They make several other guesses as to the sound of the mysterious red-coated “angel,” all just as haunting as the last. More than anything, the song feels like a cynical examination of just how far pop culture has fallen.

But the weird part is, for the most part, Ylvis is pretty much right.

Not every farcical song has to be an ironic inspection of society and culture. Even though they claim “no one knows” the actual sound made by a fox, Fox-perts actually do — and the shocking fact is, Ylvis hits the nail right on the head. The sounds a red fox makes are extremely varied, just like in the video. And, in reality, they’re just as strange and terrifying.

Red foxes are relatively shy around humans; that’s probably why most people think they have never actually heard one vocalize. And it’s true, foxes are pretty secretive, but the simple fact is, the sounds a red fox can make are nuts.

We have probably heard many in our lifetime, but according to the experts, it’s actually really hard to distinguish the call of a red fox from that of an extremely shrill coyote or an exceptionally screechy owl.

According to Popular Science, the red fox makes a lot of different sounds, most of which tend to be described as high-pitched and “scream-y.” From the mating wail of the female fox (or male, depending on the situation) to the haunting and more birdlike “yow-ow-ow-ow” identification barks, it’s really a wonder we find foxes endearing at all.

They garble, too — and often — singing a song reminiscent of a child stuck at the bottom of a well. It’s strange, because what we expect from a cute forest animal is a cute forest sound.

But Ylvis was absolutely correct with their musical approximation of the fox’s disturbing voice. “Fraka-kaka-kaka-kaka-kow” is totally spot-on, matching the sound foxes make in territorial encounters between adults; in the world of fox science, that’s called “gekkering.” It’s a series of angry, guttural clicks you can hear when a fox gets really worked up about something.

If you haven’t, go check out “The Fox” by Ylvis. And remember to not only appreciate the viral song for its delightful melody, musical prose, and ironic interpretation of pop culture, but actually pay attention to the ever-changing fox refrain. You’ll be pleased (or horrified) to note the striking similarities to the various calls of the red fox.

Then, seriously, look up gekkering. It’s great.