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- The "Big Cat" may also refer to a nickname for former baseball player Andrés Galarraga.
Big cat refers to large wild felids of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Australia and Antarctica have no indigenous species of cats.
The term big cat is used to distinguish truly large felids, which can weigh several hundred pounds, from much smaller Felidae species. Despite enormous differences in size, the various species of cat are amazingly similar in both structure and behavior. All cats are carnivores and efficient predators.
The largest cats are members of the genus Panthera. One definition of big cat includes only the four species of Panthera (lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars). Members of this genus can roar while other cats cannot. Consequently, the ability to roar is sometimes considered a distinguishing characteristic of big cats.
In addition to the genus Panthera, three other species (cheetahs, snow leopards, and pumas), with adult males weighing as much as 150 lb (70 kg) or slightly more, are often considered to be big cats.
Some medium-sized cats like Eurasian lynxes may weigh as much as 55 lb (25 kg), considerably outweighing the domestic cat, but are not considered big cats.
Species
Genus Panthera:
- Tiger, Panthera tigris (Asia)
- Lion, Panthera leo (Africa, Gir Forest in India; in southeast Europe and the Middle East in classical times)
- Jaguar, Panthera onca (the Americas; from Mexico to northern Argentina)
- Leopard, Panthera pardus (Asia and Africa)
Other "big cats":
- Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus (Africa)
- Puma, Puma concolor (North and South America)
- Snow Leopard, Uncia uncia (mountains of central Asia)
- Clouded Leopard, Neofelis nebulosa (southeast Asia)
- Tigon (male Tiger/female Lion)
- Liger (male Lion/female Tiger)
- Jagulep (male Jaguar/female Leopard)
- Lepjag (male leopard/female jaguar)
- Congolese Spotted Lion (Jagulep or Lepjag/Lion)
- Marozi (male Lion/female Leopard)
- Leopon (male Leopard/female Lion)
- For other hybrids see Panthera hybrid
Big cats of unconfirmed status (either a new species, a subspecies of a known type, or legendary):
Medium-sized cats:
- Genus Lynx:
- Eurasian Lynx, Lynx lynx (Europe and Asia)
- Bobcat, Lynx rufus (North America)
- Canada Lynx, Lynx canadensis (North America)
- Iberian Lynx, Lynx pardinus (Europe)
- Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis (Mexico, Central and South America, and southwestern Texas, USA)
- Caracal, Caracal caracal (Africa)
- Serval, Leptailurus serval (Africa)
External links
- NatureFootage Big Cat pictures and video clips
- How big are the Big Cats - an article at Big Cats Online which includes a chart comparing the body lengths of several cat species.
- ARKive - images and movies of endangered big cats
"Big cat"