Listen to this male snow leopard's love song in the Eastern Sayan mountains

Spotted by a camera trap in the Republic of Buryatia, this snow leopard has debunked the 'no roar' theory about snow leopards, says a leading Russian authority on the wild animals. 

Dmitry Medvedev, president of the Irklutsk-based Snow Leopard Foundation, says the mating season cry is proof.

'Many people still believe that these large secretive cats can't roar due to the physiology of their throat, unlike lions, tigers and leopard,' he said. 

'This video proves that they can. It shows a large male roaring loudly during a mating season high in the Eastern Sayan mountains.' 

Listen to this male snow leopard's love song in the Eastern Sayan mountains. Pictures: Gazeta Pskov, Dmitry Medvedev

The video which hasn't been previously shared was filmed in March 2014 near the snow leopard research base in Buryatia, and won a video trap competition for cats in 2016. 

Website snowleopard.org says the endangered animals  'make sounds similar to those made by other large cats, including a purr, mew, hiss, growl, moan, and yowl.

'However, snow leopards cannot roar due to the physiology of their throat, and instead make a non-aggressive puffing sound called a 'chuff'.'

Yet the sound on this video seems more than a 'chuff'.

Endemic to high and rugged mountains in southern Siberia and central Asia, scientists estimate that there may be as few as 3,920  snow leopards left in the wild.