If you visit Turpentine or stay on sight with us, you may hear our animals chatting. Everyone here has something to say and a unique way of saying it!
Our lions carol. It’s a call that can be heard up to 5 miles away, and you can hear it from almost anywhere on property. In the wild, this call is used to communicate between individuals and prides. Each lion has their own voice, so we always know who’s caroling here. Our lions like to carol at night and in the morning, right after they get fed, and sometimes even when the weather changes!
Our tigers chuff. It’s a soft, breathy snort that can be a friendly greeting or a submissive sound. Our tigers use it to greet each other and greet humans. They also whine and moan, sounding very similar to cows. Tigers are great at mimicking sounds. In the wild, they use this to lure prey while hunting. In captivity, surrounded by other animals, tigers will start to mimic their sounds. At TCWR, our tigers will carol with the lions.
Our bears huff, smack their lips and grind their teeth when they’re bothered by something, which is most often their roommate. They’ll whine when they’re eager for food.
Our leopards and our jaguar saw. Their call sounds like a hand saw cutting wood and is very impressive and loud. They also make low, short growling and grumbling sounds.
Our servals hiss. It is one of the main ways they communicate, but their body language plays an important role in deciphering their hisses. They yelp and yowl as well as make indecipherable sounds like they’re muttering to themselves.
Our cougars are the largest small cat that purrs! They also squeak and chirp and can sound like high-pitched birds. Our female cougars at TCWR are spayed, because a cougar in heat can sound like a screaming woman. Cougars growl and snarl when they’re upset too.
Our bobcats caterwaul, which sounds like a high-pitched meowing sound. It can be heard up to one mile away and it’s not a sound we hear very often here. They grumble, growl, and make higher-pitched squeaking and chirping sounds.
Our spotted hyena can make up to 14 different sounds! Nicknamed the laughing hyena, Rambo’s laugh is his most iconic sound, but it means that he’s anxious or uncomfortable. He whoops, a call that can be heard miles away and is unique to each individual. He growls in greeting to his keepers.
Our hybrids make both tiger and lion noises. They are often very grumbly and moan like tigers, and our ti-liger and one of our ligers chuffs. Our other two ligers and our li-liger will carol with the lions.
Our savannah cat, Tigger, sounds like a normal house cat. He meows!
Come out to visit us and see if you hear any of these sounds!