Sound On: Listen to a Mountain Lion’s Eerie Call

A trio of field biologists were retrieving trail cameras for a research project when they heard some eerie vocalizations. One of the men recorded the sound as it echoed through the surrounding wood. If you had to guess, what do you think a mountain lion sounds like?

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“That’s a mountain lion,” the man filming says, as the other two field biologists agree. They all seem to come to the realization at the same time.

“It’s not far away,” one of the men says, a bit hesitantly.

Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks shared the video in May, saying: “Mountain lions, Puma concolor, are one of the most elusive carnivores across the Americas, but sometimes you might catch a glimpse or hear one of their vocalizations echoing off the Montana mountainside.”

Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks says cats of all sizes can either roar or purr, depending on the species. “African lions, Panthera leo, can produce a powerful roar but our mountain lions lack the anatomy to do so,” the organization writes in its Instagram caption. “Cougar communication consists of purrs, chirps, hisses, growls, and snarls that vary in pitch and volume. They have a variety of communications ranging from bird-like chirping sounds (when a mother is ‘talking’ to her kittens) to a more forceful scream-like noise referred to as the caterwaul.”

Listen to a mountain lion’s eerie call here:

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Did you know a mountain lion could sound like this?

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