When asked what animal roars, most people will answer with "the lion". It is not so well known that there are other wild cats that can also roar. The genus "Panthera" is the group of felines that can roar, which includes the jaguar, leopard, lion, and tiger. What allows these cats to produce this sound is the hyoid bone (that is located in the throat) being composed of two pieces (as opposed to one piece in other felines).
The roar can be very loud, in fact it can be heard for 5 miles away, sometimes even farther. The air displaced has, at times, been seen to raise a small dust cloud in front of the sounding lion.
The quote from the television show 'Between the Lions', "a mighty roar that makes them run" appears to be very appropriate.
Roaring seems to be used to alert other lions of an individual's location, or in the case of group roaring, the entire pride's presence.
Other sounds are made by lions as well.
The snarl is definitely not a happy sound.
