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forum Forum index forumGeneral Stuff forumSo... Who can and can't purr?

Author : Topic: So... Who can and can't purr?  Bottom
 kyrrin
 Posts : 30
 Salvadore Dali's computer had
surreal ports.
  Posted 12/04/2008 01:33:45 AM
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The oddest thoughts pop into my skull at the oddest moments.

Here it is, very late Friday/Early Saturday (a bit after midnight, IOW), and a question posed itself: Which of the big cats can or cannot purr?

Cougars certainly can, that much I know. I've also found out, through direct experience, that caracals (desert lynxes) can purr, and very strongly too!

I'm not certain if tigers can, and I'm pretty sure that cheetahs cannot. Can lions? How about leopards?

Thoughts welcome. For now, I'm going to bed. 'Night, all.

Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy,

Blue Feather Technologies
 John
 admin
 Posts : 524
 Ruler of Zamunda
 John
  Posted 12/04/2008 09:20:27 AM
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You're right, cougars definitely can purr.  Cheetahs can also purr, I'm pretty sure, as can every cat smaller than a cheetah (lynx, bobcats, caracals, ocelots, etc.).  The rest of the "big cats", however, don't have the correct mechanism (hyoid bone) to do so.  That's why some people don't classify the cougar an cheetah as big cats, even though the cougar is often bigger than the leopard, for instance.

Of course, this info all depends on what you want to call a "purr".  Tigers will chuff, which is a friendly greeting that can sort of resemble a purr.  It's not a continuous sound, though, and it's only done upon exhaling.  I believe the other big cats may be capable of chuffing, too, but I have only received them in person from tigers.  Regardless, I don't feel that this is a true purr.

Then again, I am by no means an expert on big cats.  Others who work with tigers, lions, etc. on a day-to-day basis may have a completely different idea than I do.  

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g196/sandusky_01/hobbespurr.jpg

"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
 Kristina L.
 Posts : 144
 Kristina L.
  Posted 12/04/2008 01:26:23 PM
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I love listening to a tiger chuff, but it sure sounds a lot different than purring.  The first time I heard it, I thought the tiger was snorting at me in a friendly way

I've also heard a leopard make a noise that sounded like a friendly growl and almost like a purr.  I think it only came out on the exhale.

(I'm not an expert on big cats, and I don't work with them.  I'm just a fan who lives not too far from a big cat place.)

Kristina L.
 sabercat
 Posts : 747
 Just watch your back...'cause
I'll be chewin' on it!
 sabercat
  Posted 12/04/2008 10:13:19 PM
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I purr, but only when eating.

I'm not smiling... I'm hungry.

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