Listen To These Lovely Cats. No, Actually, Don't

[Judi Lynn]

Listen To These Lovely Cats. No, Actually, Don't

by Robert Krulwich
May 04, 2014 5:05 AM ET



"Oh, evolution," writes Mara Grunbaum in her new, about-to-come-out book, WTF Evolution, "You were doing so well with the lynx. You made it a fierce and graceful hunter, you gave it a luxurious spotted coat, you gave it pretty yellow eyes and tufted ears — and then you made it sound like this ..."

What crazy evolutionary logic led to these vocalizations? The first lynx, the one facing the camera, sounds like a creaking door with squeaky hinges, the second one like an ambulance siren with a weak, failing battery. Close your eyes and you're in a zombie movie, with unearthly howls and strange, shared silences.

But, Why?

I looked up "lynx vocalizations" to find out why they sound like this. Apparently, explaining weird cat sounds is not yet a major scholarly pursuit. Mel and Fiona Sunquist, in their book Wild Cats of the World, say lynxes can "mew, spit, hiss and growl; they also yowl, chatter, wah-wah, gurgle, and purr." But the Sunquists don't say why. Another scholar, Gustav Peters, says lynx mating calls (Is that what we heard? Or was that just two lynxes yakking?) are "a series of intense mews." Intense, for sure. Mews? Those lynxes weren't mewing.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2014/05/04/309038580/listen-to-these-lovely-cats-no-actually-don-t?ft=1&f=1001

[dipsydoodle]

1. Wild lynx to be brought back to British countryside

Senior biologists and cat specialists are this week due to apply for a license to reintroduce the cats, which can grow up to four feet in length, into an area of forest on the west coast of Scotland.

Under the plans, which have been backed by officials from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), two pairs of Eurasian lynx would be brought to this country from northern Europe.

A new charity, the Lynx UK Trust, has now been set up by the biologists to oversee the project. They are to submit an official application for a permit to Scottish Natural Heritage, which regulates species reintroduction in Scotland.

The initial reintroduction would act as trial to see whether lynx could then be reintroduced to other areas of the country including parts of Wales and northern England.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/10080527/Wild-lynx-to-be-brought-back-to-British-countryside.html

FB group here : https://www.facebook.com/UKLynx

[Victor_c3]

6. two pairs seems a little too light in the gene pool

but then again my education and work experience is very light in the area of biological sciences.

Anyways, good to hear.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. It's the same conservation over and over ...

"Your ears look silly."
"Well, yours look sillier."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah."

[Warpy]

3. Ever try to introduce two adult cats to each other

when they're not too keen on the idea? It sounds just like this when they're sorting out who gets what part of the turf and when.

It goes, "what the fuck are YOU doing here?"
"man, I got just as much a right as you, besides that gopher I ate last night wasn't fresh..."
"Cry me a river!"
"So I got held up getting rid of it. Besides, this is part of my fucking turf too!"
"Give me a fucking break, this is my time to be here, get lost!"
"Oh yeah? Who's gonna make me!"
"Your mother drives a beer truck!"

And so on and so forth. The domestic cat has a full vocabulary of weird cat sounds they use when they're evenly matched and don't think it's a good day to die. Most cat fights are like this, lots of yowling, posturing, hissing, and ineffective swipes.

My last kitty is a Maine coon and it's surmised that there are a few bobcat genes in there somewhere, something that contributes to their enormous size. Her variety of vocalizations is utterly amazing and I know exactly when her water dish is empty and she's starting to cuss about it.

[sakabatou]

4. My cat's reacting to the video

[adirondacker]

5. Ha! I posted this in the lounge without realizing you had it up already here.

You added some great additional info though!

I ended up watching a documentary on the Iberian Lynx

[Yo_Mama]

7. Very similar to two domestic cats discussing turf

This wasn't even that hostile!! When they're really mad it's a lot worse.

[darkangel218]

8. Sounds jusr like this one

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