In honor of Halloween, I am sharing one of my favorite videos of the cat who holds the world record for the animal with the highest number of names due to its wide distribution across North and South America. You may have chills run down your spine after watching this and, you will most definitely understand why this cat is called a Mountain Screamer!

This is a clip of a female Mountain Lion in heat calling for a mate with a sound that only a male Mountain Lion would find alluring. This lady gets A for effort however, her attempt may have fallen on deaf ears as they could not confirm if she was successful in attracting a male. Males are also known to produce similar screaming sounds which are used to intimidate rivals or during a fight with other males.

The video is by Parliament of Owls on YouTube and was taken from a trail cam this April. It is very cool, but loud. So you may wish to turn down the volume – or crank it up depending on your mood. The perfect backdrop for a good Halloween scare? Be sure to watch to the end….

Mountain Lions go by many names including American Lion, mountain screamer, Puma, Cougar, Ghost cat, Catamount and Panther. The names are based on their geographic location which is the largest of any terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. Mountain Lions are a member of the Felidae family, as opposed to the Panthera family like Tigers and Lions.

The major difference between the two families is the Panthera family’s ability to roar, Felidae cats can not roar, instead they make noises such as purrs, hisses, chirps and screams. The ability to roar depends on the structure of the hyoid bone, to which the muscles of the trachea (windpipe) and larynx (voice box) are attached.