News Animals

Lions have a second roar that no one noticed until now

A closer listen to lion calls may help map where the big cat is under threat

A lioness is pictured with her mouth wide open mid-roar.

The call of this lioness in Tanzania’s Nyerere National Park helped scientists uncover a second type of roar in the species’ vocal repertoire.

Jonathan Growcott

By Elie Dolgin

The thunderous roar of the MGM lion that has opened Hollywood films for nearly a century has conditioned us to hear the big cat’s call as a blunt declaration: a booming blast announcing power and presence.