The term Big cat was used to describe 4 wild cats which can roar (Tiger, Lion, Jaguar, Leopard), with the expansion of the definition now it is used to describe 7 wild cats are following
The big cat family consists of 2 Subfamilies Pantherinae ( Lion, Tiger, Jaguar, Leopard, Snow Leopard) and Felinae ( Cheetah and Cougar).
Pantherinae
Pantherine is defined as “a taxonomic subfamily within the family Felidae”. Pantherinae is divided into 2 genus (biological classification of living organisms) Panthera and Neofelis (Clouded Leopard and Sunda Clouded Leopard).
What are 5 big Cats?
Penthera the Subfamily of Pantherine contains 5 Big Cat which are Lion (Panthera Lio), Tiger (Panthera tigris), Jaguar (Panthera Onca), Leopard (Panthera Pardus), Snow Leopard (Panthera Uncia).
Tiger
Tiger is the largest Cat living specie. On average adult tiger can weight upto 360kgs with size of 3.3m.Tiger are carnivores and search for food at night. Tiger can run at the Speed of 65km/h. Tiger are good in Swimming. Tiger roar can be heard by a distance of 3 kilometers. Today we find only five subspecies of tiger which are following Amur tiger, Bengal tiger, South China tiger, Indochines tiger.
Lion
Lion is the second largest cat living specie. On male average adult Lion can weight upto 190-250 kgs with the size of 3m. Almost all wild lion live in Africa(except one small population which is found in western india). Lion usually live 8 to 10 year in wild while in captivity they can live more than 25 years. Lion can live in dry area and gets body required water from prey and even from plants. Lion can eat upto 40kg in a single time food. Only twenty three thousand (23,000) lions are remaining in wild.
Jaguar
Jaguar are the 3rd largest cat living specie and first largest cat living specie in Americas. On average adult jaguar can weight upto 158 kgs with the size of 2.7m. Around half of the jaguar living specie found in Brazil. Research claims that 173,000 jaguar left in the world. Jaguar are Excellent in swimming. Jaguar travels upto 10 kilometer during night for prey hunting.
Leopard
Leopard are fouth largest cat living Specie. On average adult Leopard weight around 85kgs with size of 1.9m. Leopard are famous for their stealthy attacks. Leopard can run with the speed to 58km/h and they can jump 6m forward through air. Leopard can climb on a tree and they like to spend their time alone. Sometimes leopard get attacked by other big cats that why they choose different hunt time.
Snow Leopard
Snow Leopard live in the mountains of Centra Asia. On average snow leopard weight around 54kgs with the size of 1.3m long. Snow leopard live in high altitude mountains at elevation of 3000m to 4500m. Unlike top four big cats (Lion, Tiger, Jaguar, Leopard) snow leopard can’t roar. Snow Leopard can run at the speed of 61 kmph and can jump 9m forward through air. There are around 4000 snow leopard wild cat remaining in world.
Felinae
Felinae is the subfamily of Falidae. Falinae has 2 genus of big cat family such as Acinonyx (cheetah) and Puma (Cougar)
Cougar (Puma)
Cougars are the most widespread big cat in America. On average cougar weight around 85kgs with size of 2.4m long. They can run with the speed of 80km/h and can jump 4.6m through air. They lives around 8-13 Years in Wild and more than 20 years in captivity. They are famous for hunting large prey. They can climb a tree. Around 5000 Cougar left in the World
Cheetah
Cheetah is the fastest animal on earth which can run upto 120km/h. On average cheetah weight around 57kgs and with size of 2.3m long. Cheetah don’t roar. Around 8000 Cheetah left in the world. Cheetah male live together while female lives in solitary. Cheetah uses its full energy to go after prey while its tail helps to change direction. Cheetah drink water once every few days.
