Informative Tumblr Thread About The Differences Between Big Cats

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Jan 26, 2021 11:00 AM EST

If you're a cat lover like us, you have a soft spot in your heart not just for house cats but also for big cats. You'd pet them if you could, and you know it. And you wish you could spend more time around big cats like that and get to know them better, learn about each of them - what makes them special and different and what their personalities are like. 

Well, say thank you to tumblr user carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory for deciding to share their big cat knowledge with us and teaching us - unlucky big cat lovers who can't spend time with big cats - about what makes wild cats unique. Reading this has both educated us and made us want to cuddle a snow leopard even more. 

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  • 01
    Font - Big Cats, Big Personalities You may have heard the phrase "big cat" before. No, it doesn't refer to a particularly large house cat, but rather to a category of cats. "Big cat" is a term typically used to describe any member of the genus Panthera, though it can mean different things to different people.
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  • 02
    Font - Some consider every member of the larger subfamily Pantherinae to be big cats-for example, clouded leopards (genus Neofelis). Sometimes, the phrase "big cat" just refers to any member of the cat family (Felidae) that is large, such as the cougar (genus Puma), the cheetah (genus Acinonyx), and the Eurasian lynx (genus Lynx, species lynx). Tigers, Lions, Jaguars, Leopards, and Snow Leopards are the extant (or currently living) members. You may be wondering how leopards and snow leopards are
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  • 03
    Font - One feature sometimes used to distinguish big cats from other cats is the ability to roar, but that ability is only found in the Panthera genus, not the additional species. Roaring itself is an important vocalization, but it isn't a surefire way to distinguish what a "big cat" is. For example, snow leopards, in the family Panthera, cannot roar. So, big cat can mean something different to everyone, but let's learn a little bit more about each of the cats listed above:
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  • 04
    Facial expression - Tigers Tigers are the largest cat species on the planet! There are several subspecies and they are easily recognized by their orange color with black stripes (though Bengal tigers are occasionally white with black stripes).
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  • 05
    Wood
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  • 06
    Organism - They are solitary and territorial animals; cubs (big cat offspring are not called kittens) stay with their mother for 2 years. These cats are found throughout Asia-although they are endangered-and their population is dwindling.
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  • 07
    Hair - Lions PAIRNEG
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  • 08
    Font - Lions are a social species of large cats found in the grasslands and savannas of Africa. Males are recognizable by their long hair surrounding their necks, called manes. Lionesses do the hunting for the pride (social group of lions), which is comprised of several adult males, related females, and cubs. These animals are listed as vulnerable, which means they are close to becoming endangered.
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  • 09
    Felidae - Jaguars
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  • 10
    Font - Jaguars are the only member of the Panthera genus found in the Americas. Individual cats can be found in the Western United States, but they have had a reduced range in Central and South America since the early 20th century. They are solitary animals and ambush predators, hunting in tropical and subtropical forests and swamps. They are recognizable by their spots, which are black rosettes with spots in the middle. However, melanistic (or all black) jaguar occasionally appear; these cats a
    via carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory
  • 11
    Photograph - Leopards
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  • 12
    Font - Leopards have a wide range and are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, in parts of Western and Central Asia and on the Indian subcontinent. They are recognizable by their spots; they look like jaguars with their spotted fur, but leopards are shorter with a smaller head, and their rosette-shaped spots do not have dots in the middle. Leopards are opportunistic hunters, hunting mostly on the ground at night; though in the Serengeti, they are known for attacking prey by leaping from trees. Leopards
    via carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory
  • 13
    Nature - Snow leopards
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  • 14
    Font - Snow leopards live in the mountain regions of Central and South Asia, living at elevations from 3,000 to 4,500 feet. Their fur is whitish grey, with black rosettes, distinguishing them from other leopards which are yellow or brown in color. Snow leopards have large nasal passages which helps warm the cold, dry air they breathe. Their tails are covered thickly with fur and provide fat storage; sleeping snow leopards use their warm tails like blankets to protect their faces when they sleep.
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  • 15
    Clouded leopard - Clouded leopards
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  • 16
    Font - There are two species of clouded leopards -the mainland clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) and the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi). The mainland clouded leopard is found in the Himalayan foothills in Southeast Asia and southern China and the Sunda clouded leopard is found in Borneo and Sumatra. They are considered an evolutionary link between two cat families Pantherinae and Felinae. Their fur is dark grey with a black blotched pattern. Clouded leopards are solitary and hunt by s
    via carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory
  • 17
    Sky - Cougar
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  • 18
    Font - The cougar (also known as a puma, mountain lion, red tiger, or catamount) is the only cat on this list that you may see in the wild around Pittsburgh; however, their populations are severely reduced in the eastern half of North America. These cats are adaptable to a wide variety of habitats, which is why they are found all throughout North and South America. This wide range is the reason people living in different regions have different names for them. They are ambush predators, preferrin
    via carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory
  • 19
    Felidae - Cheetah
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  • 20
    Font - Cheetahs are known for their speed; as the fastest land animal, they are capable of running up to 80 miles per hour! Cheetahs can be found in the Serengeti, Saharan mountain ranges, and in hilly areas of Iran. Cheetahs separate into three kinds of social groups-females with cubs, all-male groups, and solitary males. Females are more likely to travel further distances while males will establish and stay in smaller territories. They are active during the day and spend most of their time hun
    via carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory
  • 21
    Fawn - Eurasian lynx
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  • 22
    Font - The Eurasian lynx is found from Europe into Central Asia and Siberia, living in temperate or boreal (snow or Taiga) forests. They have short, red-brown coats, and are more colorful than most animals sharing their habitat. In the winter, their fur grows in thicker and greyer. These cats have relatively long legs and large webbed and furred paws that act like snowshoes, allowing them to walk on top of the snow. They have bobbed (or short) tails, much like one of their cousins you might see
    via carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory

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