Research overview: the unusual vocal repertoire of the cheetah

Despite being a large cat, the cheetah cannot roar and instead produces a distinctive repertoire including bird-like chirps, stutter-bark calls, churrs, and purring. This overview surveys descriptions of cheetah vocalisations and their contexts, such as chirps used by mothers and cubs to locate one another and by females advertising reproductive status, and stutter calls in social and mating situations. It connects this repertoire to the cheetah's hyoid and laryngeal anatomy, which aligns it with the purring rather than roaring felids. The topic highlights how the cheetah's vocal communication suits its semi-social, wide-ranging lifestyle and its reliance on contact calls between mothers and dependent cubs.