Everything you think you know about lions is wrong.

[girl_on_a_stick]

The movies have lied to you, even the nature documentaries we grew up with as kids miss the mark. I won’t even mention a certain animated film and stage production

Comments

[creactivity]

Fascinating.

Having cats I've always wondered if lions purred as a signal that it's okay to come close like my cats do.

[girl_on_a_stick]

Actually lions don't roar. They physically can't. Big cats can either 'roar' or 'purr', not both due to the way their vocal chords are structured.
Cheetahs, on the other hand, have a very loud, beautiful purr, and yes, they use it in exactly the same way as a house-cat.

[wuweibaby]

Thank you for this.

[trendywendy]

Wow. This is an excellent read.

[project_mayhem_]

Very cool! Thanks for the writeup. I'd also heard that about the lion's roar- that you don't just hear it, you *feel* it.

I love watching big cats- especially because there are so many things they do that are just like their smaller, domestic counterparts.

[girl_on_a_stick]

Totally. They even do the same 'butt wiggle' just before they pounce. Only it's huge and terrifying instead of adorable :D

[project_mayhem_]

There was a show that used to come on the Discovery Channel called Time Warp- it was about different phenomena watched through a high-speed camera. In one of them, they showed a tiger as it was running, and you could see as it moved just how much of it was pure muscle. I couldn't find it on YouTube, but if I ever do, I'll post it.

[grail76]

Happy Birthday!