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Study

Adapted to roar: functional morphology of tiger and lion vocal folds

Klemuk, S. A.; Riede, T.; Walsh, E. J.; Titze, I. R.

PLoS ONE, 2011

Peer-reviewedphysiological studylaboratory

What they did

Vocal-fold tissue from tigers and lions was tested mechanically — stretched and sheared — and the measured properties were used to predict the frequencies the tissue could produce and the lung pressure needed to set it vibrating.

Studied in
Panthera tigris, Panthera leo
Sample size
excised larynges from tigers and lions

What they found

The vocal folds are unusually large, with a thick flat surface and a distinctive gel-like layer, and their measured stiffness predicts a very low fundamental frequency at low lung pressure. The roar falls out of the tissue properties; the animal does not have to strain to produce it.

What it means

The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.

How the authors put it

Tiger and lion vocal folds are structurally specialised for producing loud, low-frequency calls efficiently, and the acoustics follow from tissue mechanics rather than from unusual neural control.

How NatureHQ reads it

This is the better answer to "why can a tiger roar", and it also reframes the purring question. Purring needs a rapid, sustained cycle of muscle activity driving a small stiff fold; roaring needs a large heavy fold that vibrates slowly and cheaply. A tiger’s larynx is built for the second, so it does not do the first — which is a more useful statement than the bone one, and does not require anyone to believe a ligament decides what noise a cat makes.

Limitations

  • Excised tissue in a laboratory rig, not a vocalising animal.
  • Few larynges, obtained opportunistically from zoo deaths.
  • Predicts frequency range and phonation threshold; does not test what a tiger actually chooses to say.

The experiment, explained

  • Why a roar is easier than it sounds

    Does a tiger roar because it is powerful, or because its vocal folds are built that way?

What this study is used for on NatureHQ

One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.

Finding the paper

Published by: Public Library of SciencePublished in a PLOS journal under CC BY 4.0.

doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0027029

This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref on 2026-08-11.

NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-11.