[This was written by Fran Siebrits and published online by Wild Magazine http://www.wildcard.co.za/, 2011]
Lions are just big babies, roaring to tell others of their presence in the same way a baby cries to get attention.
Although the sound is deeper, a lion’s roar is similar to a baby’s crying. Babies cry to get attention, so that a parent will take notice. Lions roar to warn all in earshot of their territory and the possible dangers of hanging around in it.
Lions produce a long-distance call which advertises their position, territory and authority. Even though lions do have large vocal folds (vocal cords), it’s not their size that is responsible for a loud, deep roar.
A recent study has shown that the frequency of a lion’s roar is determined by the shape of their vocal folds, which are able to stretch and shear, producing loud, deep and terrifying roars.
It was previously thought that lions roar deeply because their vocal folds are laden with fat. But the latest research shows that their vocal folds are actually flat and flexible. There is a little fat, but its role is to give the folds their square shape which assists air flow.
The vibrations of both a baby’s cry and a lion’s roar are not regular. The sounds produced by babies and lions are loud, rough and piercing.
"In some ways, the lion is a large replica of a crying baby, loud and noisy, but at very low pitch," says speech scientist and researcher Ingo Titze. The only difference between the sounds produced by lions and babies is the frequency of the pitch: the one is high and the other low. Other than that, they have the same loose, gel-like vocal folds/chords vibrating at the same irregular rhythm.
I’m not too sure the King of the African plains will be happy with being compared to a baby, but a little humility is a good thing every now and then.
Sources:
Although the sound is deeper, a lion’s roar is similar to a baby’s crying. Babies cry to get attention, so that a parent will take notice. Lions roar to warn all in earshot of their territory and the possible dangers of hanging around in it.
Lions produce a long-distance call which advertises their position, territory and authority. Even though lions do have large vocal folds (vocal cords), it’s not their size that is responsible for a loud, deep roar.
A recent study has shown that the frequency of a lion’s roar is determined by the shape of their vocal folds, which are able to stretch and shear, producing loud, deep and terrifying roars.
It was previously thought that lions roar deeply because their vocal folds are laden with fat. But the latest research shows that their vocal folds are actually flat and flexible. There is a little fat, but its role is to give the folds their square shape which assists air flow.
The vibrations of both a baby’s cry and a lion’s roar are not regular. The sounds produced by babies and lions are loud, rough and piercing.
"In some ways, the lion is a large replica of a crying baby, loud and noisy, but at very low pitch," says speech scientist and researcher Ingo Titze. The only difference between the sounds produced by lions and babies is the frequency of the pitch: the one is high and the other low. Other than that, they have the same loose, gel-like vocal folds/chords vibrating at the same irregular rhythm.
I’m not too sure the King of the African plains will be happy with being compared to a baby, but a little humility is a good thing every now and then.
Sources:
- Sarah A. Klemuk, Tobias Riede, Edward J. Walsh, Ingo R. Titze. Adapted to Roar: Functional Morphology of Tiger and Lion Vocal Folds. PLoS ONE, 2011; 6 (11): e27029 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0027029
- Viewed online [http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111102190012.htm] WIKIPEDIA, 2011. Lion. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion]
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