Anatomy of a Lion's Roar

[vlad]

Earlier this evening I was watching "His Majesty" (King).

He actually blocked the camera with his big body, giving a close-up shot of his mid-section only. It seems he was vocalizing. His belly sucked in and out and you could see his rippling muscles Tried to get a sequence shot - but then he moved so that he was entirely blocking out the camera! It may have been time for din din. I don't know.

A few months back I watched a male lion vocalizing at the National Zoo and noticed that his belly seemed to suck in and out as if he was trying to retrieve that fabulous sound he was making from somewhere deep within. A hush came over the large crowd that had gathered as he called for his supper...

After seeing King this evening - I had to know more about the lion's roar!

So I went on an internet adventure to hunt down some info.

Here's a link to a scholarly article exploring the purposes of a lion's roar, written by John Grinnell, an assistant professor of biology at The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.

The Lion's Roar: More than Just Hot Air
by Jon Grinnell
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/1997/3/lionsroar.cfm

Some excerpts:
"On a still night the sound of lions roaring can carry five miles or more and can serve as an acoustic signpost, proclaiming for all who would hear that these lions are owners of this land. Instead of a distant reply, though, the deep voice of a male lion rose from the rocks 50 yards behind us: "aaaouu, aaaouu, aaaouu," over and over, and loud enough to make the metal body panels of our vehicles vibrate sympathetically."

"Norm could shake our cars from 30 yards away, be heard five miles away, and do this over and over again throughout the night. Why should he work so hard at being heard?"

Behavior Guide: roaring (from the Lion Research Center website):
http://www.lionresearch.org/behavior_guide/roaring.html

They also have a great page with great links, articles and even links to videos
http://www.lionresearch.org/main.html

...including a heavyweight article by Grinnell.
http://www.lionresearch.org/current_docs/m_pdf/a24.pdf

Interesting note: I came across much debate about whether a lion can purr. Hmmmmmmm. I have no idea who is right on that one.
http://www.lioncrusher.com/animal.asp?animal=59
"Lions have been known to purr, contrary to popular belief. They only purr when exhaling, not while both inhaling and exhaling like house cats. Purring does not seem to be as important to lions as it is to smaller cats. It is thought to soothe the animal it is taking as prey so there is minimal struggle. It is also heard when two lions are interacting on a friendly basis. "

Another view on that subject:
http://www.yesmag.bc.ca/Questions/purr.html

Here's what an expert had to say on the subject of lion vocalizations:
http://tinylinks.net/915

Wonder if Dave or Jason ever hear King purring?
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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." - Henry Ford

[kitty24]

Oh Wow, Sista Val! Loved this one and I'm bookmarking the links. I voted yes for sure! i know who voted no, but I'm not telling...hehe.. This is an awesome post and in answer to the Question...I'm sure TD has heard King plenty of times....hehe.. Thanks for the links!
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Every little bit, DOES help, often in a BIG way. ~kitty24~

[Alex]

This totally blew me away "It is thought to soothe the animal it is taking as prey so there is minimal struggle" -- wow!

Thank you for this post Vlad. Still exploring the links you included here. I would love to hear Dave or Jason talk about this.

I voted Not Sure!

[BarbaraJ]

Very interesting, Val. Whenever I see him do this, I think of bellows (the things that are used to get the fire going in a fireplace). Going to check out the links and then come back and vote on this one.
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"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Mahatma Gandhi

[vlad]

Barbara - That is a great description. Here's King's tummy while he was vocalizing.
Still wish I could have gotten that sequence. I was mesmerized and didn't hit that "take a snapshot" button fast enough.

Here are King's "bellows."



P.S. Another thing I learned that everyone else probably already knows - is that lions are the loudest of the big cats. The description form Grinnell's article made the point. Wow! Awesome creatures!
_________________
"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." - Henry Ford

[gb3llma]

This is so uncanny Val......I was watching King doing that this evening as well......must have been the same time--right before dark?
Fascinating information and I had to skim for now but fully intend to give the links a thorough read through.....after work tomorrow, that is!! I voted NO to purring because to my mind it is not TRULY purring unless it can be sustained on both inhale and exhalation. They can only do it on exhalation I believe. But BOY CAN THEY ROAR!! Got some shots......



Amazing muscle control 'eh? Check out those 'abs' (Looks like you'll have to click on the thumbnail and go to the larger image to see it animate since it's not moving in the preview)

[vlad]

OH MAN LAURA! That's the shot I couldn't get because I was so fascinated! This is hillarious!! First you & Haze on the same websites watching the same cams - now we were on the same cams taking the same pics! (well I was trying to get that pic you got! ).

Lots of Good Karma here tonight!
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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." - Henry Ford

[tigerdave]

King has a big mouth and he is always vocalizing and matter of fact he been doing it alot tonight and i can be in the house with the TV on and the windows shut and I hear him really good and he way in the back of the sanctuary ! And i have never ever heard him purr and i have had him since he was 4 weeks old ! the largest purring cats are Cougars so I say a BIG no on lions purring ! And when he is eating he is grawling and will charge if I get to close and he loves me !!! they are violent killing machines and they don't give a hoot about their prey !!!

that's my opinion and i am sticking to it !!! hehe !!!

Only at tigerhomes can you see stuff like this and then take pictures of it !!! Aren't you guys glade i mounted the cams at eye level !!! hehe !!! I am so into this and a HUGE NERD and for sure knew what i was doing when setting up these cams !!! hehe !!!

[vlad]

[Alex]

Laura thank you! I hope you don't mind. This went up on the lion's page already. This will be interesting for visitors to see -- there are lead-ins to this thread so they can see the large version of the image if they want and maybe join in the discussion

Lions

Cool!

[gb3llma]

Faster than a speeding bullet....reminds me about capes or something.....YOU WHAT? Already? Mind? Whaddayathink? LOL!

I was thinking about what Barbara mentioned earlier about that reminding her of bellows. There go those wave lengths again .......many the time I've watched him stand there with his chest and belly heaving and thought the same thing. This time he gave us a bird's eye view of what goes on with those muscles. Many thanks to T.Dave for his expertise in strategic placement for those cams!!

[vlad]

Just found a vido clip on the SafariCam website with a male lion sounding off in the night! Lions are so amazing!
http://tinylinks.net/925

More lion vids on this page:
http://tinylinks.net/927
_________________
"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." - Henry Ford

[abby9ak]

i voted no because i think only the cugar and i think the cheetah can purr