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Loading...What Do Wild Cats Sound Like? (Videos)
- Cherise Udell
- February 22, 2012
- 2:36 pm
- 74 comments
There are 37 species of cats in the world and while most of us are familiar with the sounds of your average house cats — some delightful, such as a deep rumbling purr, others downright irritating such as the mating howls of your neighborhood tomcat, most of us are really not familiar with the panoply of wild cat sounds.
The cheetah chirps and chortles, the jaguar chuffs, the serval yelps and the sand cat hiss-spits. The lion of course roars, but maybe not like you imagine he does. The tiger, in my opinion, has the quintessential roar, that most of us think of when we imagine a big cat belt out a big one. Check out these first two videos, then close your eyes so you can only hear, but not see, the cat making the sounds. Unless you have spent intimate time with a variety of wild cats, you will likely be surprised by who makes which call ( I was!).
Cat Call Test A (This video features three cat species. There are silent breaks between the cats.)
Cat Call Test B (This video features six cat species, but it has a commercial first, so wait a few moments before trying to guess which cat is making which sounds.)
After testing your auditory knowledge of felines, continue on with this interesting sample of cat calls, some captive, some wild, but all deeply primal! Enjoy!
Next: Leopards & cheetahs
Read more: Behavior & Communication, Cats, Feline Muse, Nature, Nature & Wildlife, Videos, Videos, Videos, Wildlife, big cat sounds, caracal call, caracal sounds, cat calls, cat sounds, cheetah chirp, cheetah purr, cheetah volcalization, Cherise Udell, Feline Muse, leopard sounds, lion roar, puma purr, tiger volcalization, wild cat calls, wild cat roar, wild cat vocalization
Cherise Udell
Cherise Udell is a mom, clean air advocate, anthropologist and feline aficionado with the nomadic habit of taking spontaneous sojourns to unusual destinations. Before her adventures in motherhood, she was an intrepid Amazon jungle guide equipped with a pair of sturdy wellingtons and a 24-inch machete, as well as a volunteer at a rainforest animal rescue center.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
people are talking
So very true. Thank you: )
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So sweet!
earth day needs to be everyday.....and from everyone......
Sounds good for those hot summer days.
74 comments
+ add your own:-)
I was very surprised at some of the sounds thses big cats made!! I had never seen a Caracal or a Serval before. Pretty interesting.
My cat came running to the speakers when she heard the Puma crying.
Then she took off running from the room when the Ocelet was growling.
If the Ocelet is a family pet, why don't they get her spayed? That is so sad to make her go through that!! Better yet, turn her over to a Santuary so she has her freedom!!!
It's interesting to hear but heartbreaking and upsetting that so many of these cats are in captivity.
Neat! I think the cheetah chirping was my favorite. If I heard it in the wild I don't think I would have any idea it was made by a big cat. The cheetah purrs were also very sweet :) Thanks for the post.
amazing.. i love the rumble of a lion!
They sound just like my kitteh when she is pissed.
I sent this to my son. He's going to love these.
Very interesting. Some where a surprise. I thought my cat laying next to me would respond a lot more to these sounds than she did.
thanks for sharing shame they were in cages and not in the wild :/
the tiger was all, i love you, pet me then let me out.
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