I visit Mischief, a female African leopard who happens to be in heat and showing off her best friendly display and "purr". I place the purring in quotes because much debate exists about what constitutes as a purr and what animal actually does purr. The estrus cycle is influenced by hormonal and chemical changes but emotions are also heightened by firing of neurons in the brain controlled by chemicals as well.
The debate surrounds that hyoid bone I spoke about in another purring video not too long ago. Cats with a fully developed hyoid bone (cheetahs and the lesser cats) can only purr and not roar. the BIG CATS like Leopards, lions, and tigers are the roarers while the lesser cats, like cheetahs, Mt. lions and all the smaller cats only purr and cannot roar. BUT... that is not the case for the snow and clouded leopard who have been shown to roar and purr, yet they have a partially developed hyoid bone (not supposed to purr). The lesser cats have a fully developed hyoid bone. Confusing? Yes... so I make it simpler. They ALL PURR!!!
This is Luna and she's in heat again. Leopards become very expressive and vocal when they are.
I've only heard female leopards attempt to purr, but only when in heat and when ready to mate.
I love her voice, look how deep that is. She could be a soprano singer.
Male leopards can produce the vibrating sound as well, but I've never heard it.
The reason the females make the purring sound is to attract a mate
and show the male she's non-aggressive and friendly.
This is Mischief, a female spotted African leopard. She's normally friendly but doesn't
normally purr. When she's in heat and showing signs of estrus, she becomes very affectionate
and purrs. They instinctively know that behaving and sounding friendly attracts a mate.
Marking her territory, spreading her scent, physical and audible displays
are all part of the plan to attract a mate.
Up next, watch Mischief, the spotted leopard, put on her best display and purr.
Have you ever heard a leopard purr? Actually, it's not really a purr, it's more of a,
I guess you'd call it a purr. It's a big cat's purr.
Mischief is a about a four-year-old female and she's in heat right now.
It becomes very friendly when she's in heat, but she also purrs. I think it's really cute.
So, here we go. It's not technically referred to as a purr or a leopard. I'm not sure what you
call it, but it's an attempt at a purr, I guess. But it's only on the exhale.
The lesser cats do the, which I mentioned before, actually do the purring where they're doing
inhaling and exhaling. They vibrate that tissue in their throat. There's still a lot of debate
about really what is a purr and what the mechanics of a purr is. Whether it's conscious,
a conscious effort, but it's a kind of a low rumble.
Stop purring. She's normally friendly anyway, but she's extraordinarily friendly
now that she's in heat again. She had a cub, but they don't want her getting pregnant again.
Her whiskers feel like plastic. Very, very strong, thick. She's not rumbling so much.
I'm going to capture her her leopard purr a little bit.
So, do leopards purr or just rumble? It's just semantics to me.
From household cats to the ones in the wild, the intent is the same.
It's an emotional response, whether intentional or involuntary, to calm the mood. An expression
of contentment and friendliness. Other animals purr as well. Hyenas, mongoose, guinea pigs,
raccoons, cervids, and even bears. And they all purr for the same reasons.
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