Leopards can now be identified by their roar.

The feline species Panthera pardus are known for their solitary and elusive lifestyles. This makes it challenging to gather data on their population numbers, habitats, and behaviors, which are essential for conservation staff.

A group of researchers from the UK, Germany, and Tanzania set out to investigate whether bioacoustics could aid in recognizing individual leopards and assessing their population size. Previously, this technique, based on analyzing animal sound signals, has primarily been used in the study of birds and marine species.

The low-frequency, quiet roar that resembles a cough combined with the sound of a saw cutting through wood is the most distinctive sound made by leopards. It can travel at least a kilometer and is mainly used for attracting mating partners and marking territorial claims.

In an experiment conducted in the Nyerere National Park in Tanzania, scientists attached 50 cameras with microphones to trees along roads and trails to capture leopards and the pattern of spots on their fur, as well as to record the unique growls of these predators. Using this data set, specialists created a system to analyze the vocalization structure of leopards and recognize individual animals from their sounds. This enabled them to identify wild cats with an accuracy of up to 93%.

The authors of the new methodology hope that its successful testing will pave the way for further research aimed at assessing leopard population density and studying the variety of vocalizations they use.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the British Ecological Society in Liverpool, which took place in December 2024. A paper on the research is planned for publication in the journal Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation. Along with colleagues from the University of Exeter and the University of Oxford (UK), contributions to the scientific work were made by specialists from the Frankfurt Zoological Society (Germany), the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI), the Tanzania National Parks Authority, and the conservation charity Lion Landscapes.