Our domestic cats have long used meows to get attention and affection from their owners; Lions and tigers are unable to meow. But now, for the first time, wildlife experts have recorded jaguars meowing in the wild, in the Atlantic Forest. And it actually sounds really cute to our ears!
In a new one, just published in the magazine Behaviourresearchers describe the first vocalizations similar to mine recorded in female jaguars, captured through camera traps in the Iguaçu National Park, in southeastern Brazil.
The team, which included researchers from the University of Salford, in the United Kingdom, the Atlantic Technological University, in Ireland, WWF Brazil and the Onças do Iguaçu Project, collected the unique sounds and images through the installation of monitoring cameras at various points in the park.
The recordings show females calling their young with sounds similar to meowing and the cubs meowing in response to locate the mother.
The team recorded two distinct females “meowing”. The sounds were sharp and brief. Due to its high tone, short duration and sequential pattern, the call resembles the meows normally produced by domestic cats.
This communication pattern surprised the team research and reinforces the complexity of maternal interactions between big cats.
The study’s findings suggest that jaguars may use meow-like vocalizations in communication between mother and cub. Many big cats, like lions and tigers are unable to meow due to the structure of its trachea and larynx.
Meowing has been observed in certain species of wild cats in captivity, typically characterized by distinct sound patterns and frequent repetition.
Both males and females employ this behavior for long-distance communication, serving as territory markerle as a means of attracting breeding partners.
Adult domestic cats rarely meow at each other; the behavior is normally reserved for communicating with humans, something they learn from a young age.
“As far as we know, this is the first time that jaguars have been recorded using this type of communication, which makes us incredibly excited,” he says Marina Duarte, researcher at the University of Salford, in .
“This research really deepens our understanding of how big cats can communicate. We think they are making these sounds to help locate your offspringbut they may also be using them for reproductive purposes, maybe to find a partner”he adds.
“It sounds really cute to our ears!”, notes the researcher.
“These results highlight the value of long-term monitoring efforts of this iconic Atlantic Forest species and show that there is still much to learn about how jaguars interact and communicate in their natural environment”, says Vania Foster, Head of Research at the Onças do Iguaçu Project.
