Hear a Mountain Lion’s Powerful Scream — A Sound You Hope to Never Encounter in the Wild

Mountain lions are known by many names: panthers, pumas, cougars, and catamounts, for example. However, there is one moniker that perfectly describes one of their more unusual characteristics: the mountain screamer. This name refers to their incredibly distinctive — and often unsettling — screams. Also called “caterwauls,” these loud and piercing screams sound surprisingly humanlike, as seen in this YouTube Video.

Why Do Mountain Lions Scream?

Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are typically solitary animals and are most active at dawn and dusk. Their unique screaming behavior occurs during mating season, with females being the primary vocalists.

When a female is ready to mate, she leaves scent markings by clawing at dirt or tree bark. Females also emit high-pitched screams to attract males. These screams are designed to travel long distances, sometimes carrying up to a mile.

Both male and female mountain lions can scream, but it is less common for males. When a male mountain lion screams, he is usually announcing his presence to females and warning potential rivals in the area. Mountain lions are polygamous, so a single female may mate with several males during the mating season.

What Does a Mountain Lion’s Scream Sound Like?

Many describe a mountain lion’s scream as strikingly similar to a human scream, only much louder and more piercing. Others characterize it as a strange hybrid of a whine, howl, and yowl, all merged into a single sound. Some even suggest that there is a somewhat melodic quality to these unique vocalizations.

When a male and female mountain lion meet to mate, they usually spend anywhere from three to 10 days together before going their separate ways. Male mountain lions are not involved in parenting at all, spending most of their lives roaming their territories alone.

Female lions, however, dedicate a large portion of their adult lives to raising their young. After a 90-day gestation period, a female gives birth to a litter of one to four cubs. Due to their polygamous nature, each cub within a single litter could potentially have a different father. Mountain lion mothers are devoted to their young, caring for their cubs for 18 to 24 months until the young adults are ready to venture out and find their own territories.

Other Mountain Lion Vocalizations

Mountain lions are ambush predators with extraordinary stealth. However, they do have a surprisingly diverse vocal repertoire. While their high-pitched, dramatic screams, like those heard in this YouTube video, are the most well-known, mountain lions also communicate using other sounds like hisses, whistles, chirps, and even purrs.

• Hisses often indicate agitation or are used as a warning.

• Chirps can easily be mistaken for birds or even human whistling and are used to communicate with other mountain lions.

• Whistles are used to communicate with other mountain lions across far distances.

• Purring often means a mountain lion is relaxed or content.

Mountain lions are classified as the largest of the “small cats.” Like other members of this group, they are unable to roar. Unlike “big cats” (such as lions, tigers, jaguars, and leopards), mountain lions have a hardened, or ossified, larynx with specialized folds that allow them to purr but not roar. In contrast, “big cats” can roar but cannot purr.

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