36: Cougar Screams

Cougars are beautiful stealthy hunters. Until they want to mate. Then they sound like a person being run through a garbage compactor. Have a listen. 36_ Cougar Screams Transcript Welcome to Brain Junk, I’m Amy Barton, TK: And I’m Trace Kerr, and it’s time for a Brain Storm. Let’s take a little listen. Audio of screaming sound. AB: Holy cow. Wow! TK: That is the scream of a cougar. AB: It’s super creepy. TK: It’s a large brown wild cat that is native to North and South America from the tip of Argentina to Central Canada and all across the United State, the cougar is ubiquitous. AB:Wow-yeah-we’ve had some cougar sightings in our area recently! TK: We have! I can remember when we lived in southern California sometimes they’d close school because there’d be one in a tree over the playground. AB: Ooh really?! TK: Yeah! AB:Oh my goodness! TK: Yeah! They’re everywhere! Sometimes they take out bikers, but we’re not going to talk about any of that! AB: Walk home fast kids! TK: Right, exactly. The most remarkable thing about them, I think, is the scream. Well, some people think it sounds like a woman screaming. AB: It does! TK: Some people say it’s the vocal equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard. AB: Yeah… TK: Let’s listen to it again. Audio of cougar scream. AB:Sure sounds like one of Dr. Liston’s patients. TK: It does. What’s fun about it is that both male and females call, and it’s thought to help them find mates. Cause mostly, they only do it, I mean these are pretty solitary cats, they don’t like hanging together, you know, they live most of their lives alone, but when somebody is in the moooood for a little love, there’s some screaming. AB: Wow! That’s the equivalent of like, “Hey baby, are your arms tired? You Look like you flew all the way from heaven.” TK: Yes. AB: Wow! TK: We don’t need rose petals when we’ve got cougar screams. AB: Wow! That is amazing and alarming. Audio of cougar scream. TK: And that is a Brain Storm Want to hear more? Brain Storms are on Facebook and Instagram as BrainJunkPodcast, and on Twitter as @MyBrainJunk and you can also find us wherever you find your podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com