Cougar (Puma concolor) vocalization and frequency shift as a playback response
- Resource Type
- article
- Authors
- Macarrão, Arthur; Corbo, Milena; Araújo, Carlos Barros de
- Source
- Biota Neotropica. September 2012 12(3)
- Subject
- bioacoustics
felid
recordings
Brazil
acoustic communication
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1676-0603
Recordings of cougar (Puma concolor) vocalizations are rare in the wild. We made two night recordings from the same individual. The first recording was spontaneous whereas the second was made after a playback emission (using a third party recording) allowing for comparisons. We measured the calls before and after playback stimuli using Raven software and noted that only the minimum fundamental frequency presented differences between calls. As fundamental frequency is closely related to body size, a frequency reduction may indicate territoriality engagement. Our recording seems to be the first held in the Brazilian wild. Little is known about cougar natural history and behavior, and our data suggest that acoustic communication may have an important role on the species intraspecific interactions.