Big Cats Say That?
Researchers found that wild jaguars meow like house cats. But why?
© Mint Images-Art Wolfe—Mint Images RF/Getty Images; Photo illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
You might know that house cats can make many different sounds, from purrs to growls to meows. But did you know that jaguars can also meow? Recently, wildlife cameras caught a few of the spotted wildcats meowing like domestic cats (house cats).
In a 2025 study, scientists studied videos from 29 wildlife cameras that are placed all through Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park. The cameras record 15-second videos every 6 seconds, capturing whatever is in front of them during that time. Scientists were amazed when three videos from 2022 and 2023 showed jaguars making noises that were previously unknown. In the videos, two female jaguars seemed to use short, high-pitched noises (like domestic cats’ meows) to call their cubs. A meowing cub seemed to be looking for its mother.
Courtesy of Project Jaguars of Iguaçu/ University of Salford, Iguaçu National Park, Atlantic Technological University, WWF Brazil
This jaguar lives in Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park, where cameras caught the big cats using meows to communicate.
With only three videos, scientists aren’t ready to draw a conclusion about why jaguars meow. They believe jaguars may reserve meows for communication between mothers and their cubs. But it’s possible that female jaguars meow when looking for a mate. It’s also possible that male jaguars meow—but there’s no video to prove it. Not yet, anyway.
Marina Duarte was one of the scientists involved with this study. Duarte says that even after years of study, there’s still a lot to learn about animals.
“The results of our research remind us that even in one of the world’s most studied big cats, there [is] still…behavior waiting to be discovered, quietly unfolding in forests just beyond human sight,” Duarte told the BBC.
Here’s a video of jaguars making the meow sounds.
Courtesy of Project Jaguars of Iguaçu/ University of Salford, Iguaçu National Park, Atlantic Technological University, WWF Brazil
