THE lion is one of the largest carnivores on land. Nicknamed ‘The king of the jungle’, it possesses a deafening roar that would instill fear within humans as well as other animals. A lion is capable of producing roars up to 114 decibels that are equivalent to certain rock concerts.
Lions do not generally roar when they are on the hunt as this will warn[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] their prey of their whereabouts. On a wind still night lions can be heard roaring 7 to 8km away.
Roars are not only used to proclaim territory but also to rally straying members of the pride.
Generally, the voice or sound is produced by air from the lungs flowing out via vocal cords which causes it to vibrate.
Due to this, audible pulses of sound are produced. The characteristics of the sound are dependent on the air pressure from the lungs and muscles of the larynx.
The reason for such majestic roars is associated to the larynx or the voice box. Lions possess distinct vocal cords in their larynx due to fat deposition within the vocal cord filament.
This causes the formation of a flattened, square shaped vocal cord rather than the traditional triangular shaped ones. The shape stabilises the vocal cords and enables the lions to produce loud roars without employing too much pressure on their lungs.
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