While searching for their cubs, the females of the world’s third-largest feline will make a sound that’s strikingly similar to what you’ve heard your own cat make. Weighing in excess of 300 lbs., the jaguar is a ferocious predator that can take down large caiman and even cattle, but recent video camera trap footage has revealed that they possess a softer side as well. In Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park, a team of British and Brazilian ecologists made this discovery during a camera trap survey, along with that of two other abnormal vocalizations, all of which were documented in two female cats on three separate occasions. The panthera species can’t purr like a house cat because of larger vocal cords and an ossified bone in their necks, but they can produce a sound that’s very close to a “meow.” In contrast to other big cat species around the world, the jaguar isn’t endangered, maintains widespread habitat connectivity, and is resilient in the face of human intrusion. Biologists monitoring these cats use cameras to be their eyes and ears. Every six seconds, the traps record audio and video for 15 seconds. Several instances of jaguar meows were recorded, two of which featured an adult female that appeared to be searching for her cub, while the third captured a one-year-old female cub that was possibly looking for her mother. This is the first time jaguars have ever been recorded using this kind of communication. “This research really deepens our knowledge of how big cats can communicate. We think they are making these sounds to help locate their young, but they could also be using them for reproductive purposes too, to find a mate perhaps. It does sound very cute to our ears,” said Vania Foster, Head of Research of the Project Jaguars of Iguaçu.
