The Big Seven cats

The latest positive development of re-introduction of Cheetah in India makes it important to know about the ‘seven big cats’ around the world.

The Seven Big Cats are:

1. Tiger
2. Lion
3. Jaguar
4. Leopard
5. Snow leopard
6. Cougar
7. Cheetah
   
   

Tiger (Panthera Tigris)

• Tiger, (Panthera tigris) is the largest member of the cat family (Felidae) and also the earliest Panthera member to exist.
• Primarily a forest animal, they range from the Siberian taiga to the Sunderban delta.
• In the wild, tigers are found in India, Nepal, China, Russia, Bhutan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Sumatra (Indonesia) and Malaysia.
• It is the national animal of India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and South Korea.
• Status: Endangered
  

Lion (Panthera Leo)

• Lions are known as the "king of beasts" or king of the jungle". They are the second largest cats in the world after tigers.
• The lion is the most social cat, and lives in groups called prides. They prefer open forests such as scrubland.
• There are two broad types of lions: the African lion and the endangered Asiatic lion
• In 2020, the population of Asiatic lions has increased by almost 29% in Gujarat's Gir forests.
• The lion is arguably the most widely recognised animal symbol in human culture — be it the Ashoka pillar in Sarnath, the main entrance to Buckingham Palace, or the 20th Century Fox and MGM logo.
  
  

Jaguar (Panthera Onca)

• The largest cat in the Americas, the Jaguar has the strongest bite force of all wild cats, enabling it to bite directly through the skull of its prey.
• Melanistic (black) Jaguars are common and are often called black panthers.
• Jaguars are found in South and Central America, preferring wet lowland habitats, swampy savannas, and tropical rain forests.
• The jaguar is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red Listacross its entire range.
• The jaguar is the most water-loving cat in the big cat family.
  
  

Leopard (Panthera Pardus)

• The leopard is similar in appearance to the jaguar but has a smaller and lighter physique.
• The spots on its coat are smaller and more densely packed than those of the jaguar.
• The leopard has the widest distribution range of all wild cats.
• The leopard is under threat and listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Listacross its range.
  
  

Snow leopard (Panthera Uncia)

• Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) are considered medium-sized cats, standing about 24 inches at the shoulder and weighing around 30-55kg.
• Status:The snow leopard is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN-World Conservation Union’s Red List of the Threatened Species.
  • In addition, the snow leopard, like all big cats, is listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), which makes trading of animal body parts (i.e., fur, bones and meat) illegal in signatory countries.
  • It is also protected by several national laws in its range countries.
• Habitat:Snow leopards can be found throughout high mountain ranges, including the Himalayas and the southern Siberian Mountains in Russia.
  • They can also be found in the Tibetan Plateau and across a range that stretches from China to the mountains of Central Asia.
  • In India, their geographical range encompasses a large part of the western Himalayas including the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayas. 
  • The snow leopard is the state animal of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.
    
    

Cougar (Puma concolor)

• Closely related to the domestic cat, this genus has only one extant species, the cougar.
• The cougar is the second-largest cat in the Americas. (The Jaguar is the largest.)
• Cougars are also called ‘mountain lion’ and ‘panther’ across their range from the Canadian Yukon to the Southern Andes.
• Concolor is latin for “of uniform colour”.
• Status: Least Concern
  
  
  

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)

• The cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, is one of the oldest of the big cat species, with ancestors that can be traced back more than five million years to the Miocene era.
• The cheetah is also the world’s fastest land mammal.
• It is listed as vulnerable in IUCN red listed species.
• The country’s last spotted feline died in Chhattisgarh in 1947. Later, the cheetah — which is the fastest land animal — was declared extinct in India in 1952.
• The Asiatic cheetah is classified as a “critically endangered” species by the IUCN Red List, and is believed to survive only in Iran.
• The cheetah is the only cat without retractable claws.