Cats from the same family are logically expected to have largely the same characteristics and abilities. However, this is not quite the case.
So why can’t cats roar?
First of all, the ability to purr is a common trait that all felines have, and this soft sound continues even as they breathe.
This ability; It is common to many cat species, including cats, pumas, lynxes and cheetahs. However, the ability to roar is much rarer and has developed and evolved in a specific lineage of cats.
“So which animals can roar?” If you say; Large cat species such as tigers, lions, leopards and jaguars roar. They have developed a special sound system to produce this sound.
For example, all sounds made by cats come from the larynx, just like in humans.
However, what plays a fundamental role in whether felines can roar or not is the structure of the hyoid bones and vocal cords in their voice boxes. These hyoid bones are equipped with a flexible cartilage structure called epihyoid, especially in large cats.
This cartilage structure allows the larynx to settle deeper, resulting in a low-frequency and deep sound. In addition, the flexible structure gives big cats the power to defend themselves and mark their territory by roaring.
Additionally, purring in cats is a special sound produced by rapid muscle movements.
The vocal cords of small cats have adapted to this ability, but the vocal cords of big roaring cats are much thicker and stronger. Therefore, lions, tigers, leopards or jaguars roar instead of purring.
In summary, this distinction between roaring and purring arises as a result of animals having different larynx and cartilage structures.
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