{"id":298716,"date":"2025-11-22T02:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T02:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/298716\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T02:00:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T02:00:08","slug":"scientists-perplexed-to-find-lions-producing-whole-new-type-of-roar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/298716\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists perplexed to find lions producing whole new type of roar"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Scientists have discovered a whole new type of roar produced by African lions, <\/a>indicating the big cat\u2019s <\/a>communication could be more complex than commonly believed.<\/p>\n

Researchers from the University of Exeter said the finding could transform wildlife monitoring<\/a> and conservation work.<\/p>\n

Their study documented and classified an \u201cintermediary roar\u201d apart from the lion<\/a>\u2019s famous full-throated roar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The researchers were able to differentiate between the two roars for the first time using artificial intelligence. <\/p>\n

\u201cLion roars are not just iconic, they are unique signatures that can be used to estimate population sizes and monitor individual animals,\u201d said Jonathan Growcot, a University of Exeter biologist who specialises in using modern technology for the conservation of large carnivores.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil now, identifying these roars relied heavily on expert judgment, introducing potential human bias,\u201d Dr Growcot, an author of the study published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, added.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn African lion sits in inside its enclosure at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City (AFP via Getty)<\/p>\n

The African lion is classified as vulnerable to extinction on the International Union for Conservation of Nature\u2019s Red List.<\/p>\n

Africa is estimated to have 20,000 to 25,000 wild lions, with their number decreasing by half in the last 25 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur new approach using AI<\/a> promises more accurate and less subjective monitoring, which is crucial for conservationists working to protect dwindling lion populations,\u201d Dr Growcot said.<\/p>\n

The latest study establishes that a lion’s roaring bout contains a full-throated roar as well as a newly named \u201cintermediary roar\u201d, challenging the long-held belief that they produce a single sound.<\/p>\n

The finding aligns with discoveries of multiple vocalisations in other large carnivores, like the spotted hyena, highlighting the growing potential of using AI for researching animal acoustics.<\/p>\n

The new method of using AI to detect and classify lion sounds could make population estimation more accessible and reliable compared to traditional methods like camera traps or spoor surveys, the researchers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe there needs to be a paradigm shift in wildlife monitoring and a large-scale change to using passive acoustic techniques,\u201d Dr Growcott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs bioacoustics improve, they’ll be vital for the effective conservation of lions and other threatened species.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":{"0":"post-298716","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}