Leopards are one of the most sought after safari animals and hearing a leopard roar is a truly special moment. The roar of a leopard (Panthera pardus) is a deep sawing sound that resembles a human hand-saw cutting wood. Male and female leopards use the sound to mark their territory, to communicate with rivals and to call their cubs. The roar is a long sequence of harmonic, low-frequency sounds that lasts for up to a minute. It is accompanied by growls, snarls and raspy yowls. In addition, solitary males and females communicate with each other using grunts, hisses and raspy barks that are similar to dog noises.
Only four of the big cats belonging to the genus Panthera can roar, namely, lions, tigers, jaguars and leopards. These cats can produce roars with the help of enlarged vocal cords and a more elongated larynx and hyoid bone for increased internal resonance. The fifth cat in the genus, the snow leopard and the clouded leopard, do not roar because they lack the fully-ossified hyoid bone required for this. In addition to roaring, all big cats can hiss and grunt. Females also purr, but this is rarely heard between adult leopards and their cubs.
Male lions use their powerful and loud roar to attract females for mating and also to defend their territories. They will roar at the females in estrus and compete with other males for the attention of a lioness. The roar of a male lion is so strong that it can be heard up to two miles away.