Which big cats can roar, and why can't snow leopards?

The short answer

The old explanation: a stretchy throat bone

For well over a century, the standard explanation was the hyoid apparatus, the chain of small bones that supports the tongue and larynx. In the roaring cats, part of this chain is not fully bony but is replaced by a ligament that can stretch. The idea was that this flexible hyoid lets the larynx sit lower and move more freely, lengthening the vocal tract and producing a deeper, louder sound. Cats with a fully bony hyoid, like house cats and cheetahs, were thought to purr instead.

The problem is the snow leopard. It shares the partly ligamentous hyoid of the other Panthera cats, yet it does not roar. So the hyoid alone cannot be the whole story.

What newer anatomy studies found

A detailed 2002 study by Weissengruber and colleagues compared the hyoid apparatus and throat of lions, jaguars, tigers, cheetahs and domestic cats. They concluded that the elastic hyoid by itself does not explain roaring; features of the larynx and especially the vocal folds matter, along with a long vocal tract.

In 2011, Klemuk and colleagues looked closely at the vocal folds of lions and tigers. They found the folds have a flat, square shaped surface and are built from tissue that can withstand a lot of stretching and shearing. That shape helps the folds vibrate at the low frequencies typical of a roar while needing relatively little lung pressure, which is part of why a roar can be both deep and very loud.

The IUCN Cat Specialist Group's profile of the snow leopard puts the missing piece simply: the snow leopard's vocal folds lack the fibro elastic tissue needed for the deep roars of other big cats. It has the "roaring" type of hyoid, but not the roaring type of vocal fold.

Why do big cats roar at all?

A roar is a long distance message. A lion's roar can carry over several kilometres, so it is an efficient way to tell rivals that a territory is occupied, and to help scattered pride members find each other, without the risk of a fight. Lions often roar most around dusk, through the night and at dawn, when sound travels well and they are most active. Tigers, leopards and jaguars, which live alone, also use calls to advertise their presence to neighbours and potential mates, alongside scent marks.

What sounds do non roaring big cats make?

Snow leopards yowl, especially in the breeding season, mew and hiss, and make a soft, friendly puffing sound called a chuff, which tigers also use as a close range greeting.

Cheetahs purr, much like a large domestic cat, and use a bird like chirp, often between a mother and her cubs. These sounds are very different from a roar and do not carry as far.

Can roaring cats purr?

This is genuinely debated. Domestic cats and cheetahs purr continuously as they breathe in and out. Lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars make some purr like sounds, but whether these are true purrs in the same sense is disputed, and they generally do not purr continuously the way a house cat does. Be wary of sources that state a simple rule either way.

What about pumas and other cats?

The puma (also called cougar or mountain lion) is a large cat but not a Panthera, and it does not roar; it is known for screams, whistles and purrs. Clouded leopards are not roaring cats either. That is one reason many scientists reserve the term big cat for the five Panthera species, with the cheetah added in everyday use. See what counts as a big cat.

Key takeaways

• Roaring cats: lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar.
• Non roaring big cats: snow leopard and cheetah.
• A flexible hyoid is not enough. Roaring depends on vocal fold shape and tissue as well.
• Roars are long distance territorial and contact calls.