Research overview: prusten as a friendly close-range tiger signal

Tigers and several other large cats produce prusten, also called chuffing, a soft fluttering sound made by blowing air through the nostrils with the mouth closed. This overview surveys observations that prusten functions as a non-threatening, affiliative greeting used between mothers and cubs, courting pairs, and familiar individuals at close range. It contrasts this gentle signal with the threatening roars and growls of the same species, illustrating the breadth of the big-cat communicative repertoire. The topic shows how even apex solitary predators maintain a set of friendly close-contact signals that mediate the brief social encounters of courtship and cub rearing.