Photobomb_Level-_Clouded_Leopard_NashvilleZoo

Prusten is a form of communicative behaviour exhibited by some members of the family

Felidae Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the ...

. Prusten is also referred to as chuffing or chuffle (verb and noun). It is described as a short, low

intensity Intensity may refer to: In colloquial use *Strength (disambiguation) *Amplitude * Level (disambiguation) * Magnitude (disambiguation) In physical sciences Physics *Intensity (physics), power per unit area (W/m2) *Field strength of electric, ma ...

, non-threatening vocalization. In order to vocalize a chuff, the animal's

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

is closed and air is blown through the

nostrils A nostril (or naris , plural ''nares'' ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbi ...

, producing a breathy snort. It is typically accompanied by a head bobbing movement. It is often used between two

cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

as a greeting, during

courting Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private m ...

, or by a

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

comforting her cubs. The vocalization is produced by

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a Felidae, felid in the genus ''Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central Asia, Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red ...

s and

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a cl ...

s. Prusten has significance in both the fields of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

and

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

Mechanism

In tigers, it has been found that low-pitched vocalizations, such as prusten, originate from vibrations of thick vocal folds in the

larynx The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal inlet is about ...

of the cat. Sound production is facilitated by the low threshold pressure required to oscillate the vocal folds, and low glottal resistance. The rough-sounding quality of the low-pitched vocalizations is likely generated by the complex pattern of vocal vibrations, caused by the excitation of multiple modes of oscillation simultaneously. Prusten also involves air being exhaled through the

nose A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes th ...

at the same time as through the mouth. This may represent an

ary shift from exclusively laryngeal vocalizations to mixed nasal and laryngeal sound production in the

felid Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the dom ...

species that display the behaviour.

Sound properties

Phonetically, prusten varies by species, however the basic structural pattern remains constant. More structural similarities occur between the two leopard species, and also between the tiger and jaguar. Individual sound pulses are more separated in the leopards in comparison to the other species, in which they tend to be more closely merged. Pulses may occur in pairs, in which a basal pulse and an upper-range pulse are produced simultaneously. This may reflect both laryngeal and nasal contributions to the vocalization, with the upper-

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

pulses produced nasally prevailing in tigers and jaguars. The vocalization is produced by repeated, short pulses of air through the nose and mouth, each lasting an average of 0.37 seconds at an average

of 248

Hertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

in tigers. Frequency compositions are similar throughout the four felid species, however they differ in intensity of low-frequency components. Total numbers of pulses produced per vocalization shows individual variation, but tend to fall in the range of 4-10 for all four species. Studies on tigers have shown that

acoustic energy In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

peaks in the low

frequency range A frequency band is an interval in the frequency domain, delimited by a lower frequency and an upper frequency. The term may refer to a radio band or an interval of some other spectrum. The frequency range of a system is the range over which i ...

and the power wanes in higher frequencies, as in many tiger vocalizations, yet a distinct pattern allows prusten to be distinguished. It has been found that tigers are most sensitive to lower frequencies and are likely able to hear in the infrasonic range, which is likely reflected in the production of calls such as prusten. It has also been hypothesized that hearing in the low frequency range is beneficial in communicating and locating prey in the low-visibility jungle habitats where these cats usually live.

Purpose

Prusten is

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

in nature, and may be produced for a variety of purposes. In

captive Captive or Captives may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Captive'' (1980 film), a sci-fi film, starring Cameron Mitchell and David Ladd * ''Captive'' (1986 film), a British-French film starring Oliver Reed * ''Captive'' (1991 ...

tigers, it is more likely to be expressed when the animals are housed in groups rather than individually. Cats may produce the vocalization both to each other in greeting, or to familiar people such as

zookeeper A zookeeper, sometimes referred as animal keeper, is a person who manages zoo animals that are kept in captivity for conservation or to be displayed to the public.Hurwitz, Jane. Choosing a Career in Animal Care (World of Work). New York: Rosen Gr ...

s, as seen in clouded leopards. It is used to signal friendly intent to the other animal, and is generally reciprocated by other felids. It may also signify happiness, as content leopards tend to be more vocal and produce prusten more frequently. In the clouded leopard and tiger, it has been observed that females often express this vocalization during

estrous The estrous cycle (, originally ) is the set of recurring physiological changes that are induced by reproductive hormones in most mammalian therian females. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous p ...

. This has also been noted in snow leopards, and is on occasion used by females to initiate

mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. ''Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproduc ...

with a male. It is frequently used by felid mothers when returning to her

den Den may refer to: * Den (room), a small room in a house * Maternity den, a lair where an animal gives birth Media and entertainment * ''Den'' (album), 2012, by Kreidler * Den (''Battle Angel Alita''), a character in the ''Battle Angel Alita' ...

in greeting to her cubs, and the cubs begin to produce this vocalization at around 5 weeks in snow leopards.

Significance

This vocalization is distinct from friendly and non-threatening vocalizations produced by other felids, and thus has been described as a behavioural

apomorphy In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have ...

. This distinction has been useful in determining evolutionary relationships between members of the family Felidae. Prusten may be able to serve as an indication of well-being. It is also valuable for conservation purposes, along with other unique felid vocalizations, and may enable the location and monitoring of both individuals and populations in their

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s. Ongoing studies seek to determine if there are individual differences in the acoustic pattern of tiger vocalizations that would aid in monitoring and conservation practices. This hypothesis is the basis of The Prusten Project, which analyses individual tiger calls with the goal of developing and implementing non-invasive monitoring systems as a conservation tool.

References

External links