Abstract
The vocal repertoire of captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and the specific role of meow vocalizations in communication of this species attract research interest about two dozen years. Here, we expand this research focus for the contextual use of call types, sex differences and individual differences at short and long terms. During 457 trials of acoustic recordings, we collected calls (n = 8120) and data on their contextual use for 13 adult cheetahs (6 males and 7 females) in four Russian zoos. The cheetah vocal repertoire comprised 7 call types produced in 8 behavioural contexts. Context-specific call types (chirr, growl, howl and hiss) were related to courting behaviour (chirr) or to aggressive behaviour (growl, howl and hiss). Other call types (chirp, purr and meow) were not context-specific. The values of acoustic variables differed between call types. The meow was the most often call type. Discriminant function analysis revealed a high potential of meows to encode individual identity and sex at short terms, however, the vocal individuality was unstable over years. We discuss the contextual use and acoustic variables of call types, the ratios of individual and sex differences in calls and the pathways of vocal ontogeny in the cheetah with relevant data on vocalization of other animals.
Highlights
Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are among animals that are most attractive for people due to their nice appearance and interesting communicative behaviour with conspecifics and humans [1,2]
Based on ANOVA results, we found that all acoustic variables were significantly related to call type (Table 1)
For the two phases of the purr vocalization, we found the differences in the pulse rate, the peak frequency, and in the lower and medium quartiles
Summary
Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are among animals that are most attractive for people due to their nice appearance and interesting communicative behaviour with conspecifics and humans [1,2]. The acoustic communication is rather poorly investigated for the cheetah. Based on the acoustic structure, call types of the vocal repertoire have been described for cheetah cubs [18] and for cheetah adults [19]. The vocal repertoire of adult cheetahs comprises eight call types: purr, hiss, growl, chirr, meow, chirp, howl and gurgle [19] (Fig 1 and S1 Audio). In cheetah cubs younger three months, the vocal repertoire comprised of the same seven call types as in adults, for the exclusion of the gurgle [18]. For assessing the PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0158546 June 30, 2016
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