A roar /rɔːr/ is a type of animal vocalization that is loud, deep and resonating. Many have evolved to produce roars and other roar-like vocals for purposes such as long-distance communication and intimidation. These include various species of , , Bovidae, deer, , , and .
The anatomical basis for the ability to roar often involves modifications to the larynx and hyoid bone and enlarged internal air spaces for low-frequency vocal resonation. While roaring, animals may stretch out their necks and elevate their heads to increase the space for resonance.
Definition
The definition of "roar" has varied between species.
However Weissengruber et al. (2002) has given a more general description of roars as consisting of both a low pitch and low
formant.
They have used the roars of
and
red deer as quintessential examples of the sound.
Other researchers have mentioned similar "roar-like" vocalizations where either the pitch or formant is still higher than in true roars.
Roaring anatomy
Roaring mammals have evolved various means to achieve their vocalizations. A proportionally large
larynx contributes to a deeper pitch. The male hammer-headed bat has a larynx that takes up most of his thoracic cavity and is half the size of his backbone. A larger larynx also has enlarged
which contributes to a deeper pitch and more massive folds leads to slower
oscillation.
In addition, the big cats (
lion,
tiger,
jaguar and
leopard, referred to as the "roaring cats"), have vocal cords that are square-shaped as opposed to the triangle-shaped cords of other
; this allows them to produce a louder call with less lung pressure.
The elasticity of the larynx and the length of the
vocal tract affect the formant or resonance of a sound. In big cats and some male deer, specialized musculature and ligaments pull the larynx deeper in the vocal tract when roaring, lowering the vocal tract resonance.
Other species have evolved internal inflatable air spaces connected to the vocal tract, which play a role in vocal resonance. The male Mongolian gazelle and musk ox possess an air space (paired and two-chambered in the former) attached to the larynx,
The structure of the hyoid bone can play a role in an animal's ability to roar. The hyoid of the big cats is less ossified and more flexible than in other cats. The snow leopard also has this property, but cannot roar, as its shorter vocal folds provide little resistance to airflow.
Biological function
In some species, roars evolved due to
sexual selection, and only one sex roars.
For example, in
only the adult male (silverback) has a larynx large enough and vocal cords lengthened enough to produce a full roar.
Nonetheless, in other species both sexes can produce these vocalizations. In lions, where both sexes roar, the vocalization plays a role in social spacing and territorial defense. The roars ward off other lions from mistakenly entering another lion's territory. The roar of a lion is audible for up to five miles in human hearing and probably further for lions.
In popular culture
The lion's roar is familiar to many through Leo the Lion, the iconic
logo seen during the opening sequence of MGM
. Leo's current roar, recreated by
Mark Mangini in 1982 and redone in 1994 and 1995, consists of tiger growls instead of actual lion roars. As Mangini later stated, "lions don't make that kind of ferocious noises sic, and the logo needed to be ferocious and majestic".
See also
External links
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Eklund, Robert, Gustav Peters, Gopal Ananthakrishnan & Evans Mabiza. 2011. An acoustic analysis of lion roars. I: Data collection and spectrogram and waveform analyses. In: Quarterly Progress and Status Report TMH-QPSR, Volume 51, 2011. Proceedings from Fonetik 2011. Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, 8–10 June 2010, pp. 1–4. Download PDF from http://roberteklund.info.
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Ananthakrishnan, Gopal, Robert Eklund, Gustav Peters, Gopal & Evans Mabiza. 2011. An acoustic analysis of lion roars. II: Vocal tract characteristics. In: Quarterly Progress and Status Report TMH-QPSR, Volume 51, 2011. Proceedings from Fonetik 2011. Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, 8–10 June 2010, pp. 5–8.Download PDF from http://roberteklund.info.
