In the wild world of cheetahs, romance doesn’t begin with flowers or fights it starts with a stutter-bark. And according to scientists, that bark does more than flirt it actually triggers ovulation. Yep, male cheetahs can turn females on literally.
A Bark That Sparks Reproduction
Researchers from the San Diego Wild Animal Park set out to understand why female cheetahs have such unusual reproductive patterns. Unlike most other big cats, female cheetahs rarely ovulate, and they don’t follow a predictable cycle.
So, what’s the secret switch?
Turns out, it’s the male cheetah’s “stutter-bark” a distinct call that sounds like a rapid-fire engine of passion.
Science in the Wild (And in the Poop)
During the experiment, researchers introduced a sexually mature female cheetah to two males and closely monitored their vocalizations. But that’s not all
they also tracked changes in the female’s hormone levels via fecal samples.
What they found was surprising:
Every time the males amped up their stutter-barking, the female’s levels of estrogen and progesterone rose the very hormones that trigger ovulation.
“We Didn’t Expect This”
“We never expected to see such a tight link between the vocalization and the hormone levels,” said Matt Anderson, the lead researcher.
This unexpected discovery could reshape how we approach cheetah conservation, especially in breeding programs where timing ovulation has always been a challenge.
Nature Is Weird And Wonderful
So, next time someone says “talk dirty to me,” remember that for cheetahs, talking literally causes fertility. Evolution is full of surprises and in the case of cheetahs, science just got a little louder.