iPedia Free Information Center

Information about Big Cat

For the record label, see .
For people nicknamed "The Big Cat", see .
Big cat distinguishes the large wild cats from much smaller species. One definition of big cat includes only the four species of cat in the genus Panthera: the lion, tiger, leopard, and jaguar. Members of this genus are the only cats able to roar, and this is sometimes considered a distinguishing characteristic of big cats. A more expansive definition also includes the snow leopard, clouded leopard, and cougar. The roaring cats may also be distinguished from the other big cats by referring to them as "great cats". Another distinction is the offspring of the great cats are called cubs while the offspring of the lesser big cats are referred to as kittens.

Three of the four largest cats are members of the genus Panthera; the cougar is the fourth largest cat, exceeding the leopard in size. Some medium-sized cats like the Eurasian lynx may weigh as much as 25 kg (55 lb), but they are not considered big cats.

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. Their range includes the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe; Australia and Antarctica have no indigenous species of cats.

Roaring

The ability to roar comes from an elongated and specially adapted larynx and hyoid apparatus.[1]. When air passes through the larynx on the way to the lungs, the cartilage walls of the larynx vibrate, producing sound. The lion's larynx is longest, giving it the most robust roar. Though jaguars are considered great cats, they are not often known to roar and have a less developed larynx. The snow leopard is also said to have a larynx nearly adapted for roaring, but it is far less developed than the jaguar. Cats that cannot roar have vocal chords more suited for purring, while roaring cats cannot purr.

Threats

The principal threats to big cats are habitat destruction and poaching. In the United States, 19 states have banned ownership of big cats and other dangerous exotic animals as pets, and the Captive Wildlife Safety Act bans the interstate sale and transportation of these animals[2]. Nevertheless, there are still an estimated 15,000 big cats kept captive in America, and only a small percentage of them are in accredited zoos[3]. The remainder are in private homes and nonaccredited roadside zoos.

Species

Family Felidae

References

1. ^ Weissengruber, GE; G Forstenpointner, G Peters, A Kübber-Heiss, and WT Fitch (September 2002). Hyoid apparatus and pharynx in the lion (Panthera leo), jaguar (Panthera onca), tiger (Panthera tigris), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and domestic cat (Felis silvestris f. catus). Journal of Anatomy 195–209. Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. DOI:10.1046/j.1469-7580.2002.00088.x. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
2. ^ Pacelle, Wayne. Captive Wildlife Safety Act: A Good Start in Banning Exotics as Pets. The Human Society of the United States. Retrieved on 2007-04-01.
3. ^ Noyes, Katherine. Big Cat Rescue: Save Exotic Felines. Charity Guide. Retrieved on 2007-04-01.

External links

Felidae
G. Fischer de Waldheim, 1817

Subfamilies

Felinae
Pantherinae
†Machairodontinae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid.
..... Click the link for more information.
genus (plural: genera) is part of the Latinized name for an organism. It is a name which reflects the classification of the organism by grouping it with other closely similar organisms.
..... Click the link for more information.
Panthera
Oken, 1816

Type species
Felis pardus
Linnaeus, 1758

Panthera is a genus of the family Felidae (the cats), which contains four well-known living species: the Lion, the Tiger, the Jaguar, and the Leopard.
..... Click the link for more information.
P. leo

Binomial name
Panthera leo
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Distribution of lions in Africa


Synonyms
Felis leo
(Linnaeus, 1758)

..... Click the link for more information.
P. tigris

Binomial name
Panthera tigris
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Historical distribution of tigers (pale yellow) and 2006 (green).

..... Click the link for more information.
P. pardus

Binomial name
Panthera pardus
Linnaeus, 1758



The leopard (Panthera pardus
..... Click the link for more information.
JAGUAR is an ab initio quantum chemistry package for both gas and solution phase calculations, with strength in treating metal-containing systems.[1] It is commercial software marketed by the company Schrödinger Inc.
..... Click the link for more information.

..... Click the link for more information.
N. nebulosa

Binomial name
Neofelis nebulosa
(Griffith, 1821)

Range map


Synonyms
Felis macrocelis
Felis marmota

The
..... Click the link for more information.
P. concolor

Binomial name
Puma concolor
(Linnaeus, 1771)

Cougar range map


Synonyms
Felis concolor The cougar (Puma concolor
..... Click the link for more information.
CUB may refer to:
  • Carlton & United Breweries
  • Communauté Urbaine de Bordeaux
  • Cuba
  • CUB (protein domain)
  • CUB (car)
  • CUB is the ICAO airline designator for Cubana
  • CUB is the IATA airport code for Columbia Owens Downtown Airport, United States

..... Click the link for more information.
Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
..... Click the link for more information.
L. lynx

Binomial name
Lynx lynx
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Eurasian Lynx range


The Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx
..... Click the link for more information.
carnivore (IPA: /ˈkɑrnɪvɔər/), meaning 'meat eater' (Latin carne meaning 'flesh' and vorare
..... Click the link for more information.
predation describes a biological interaction where a predator organism feeds on another living organism or organisms known as prey.[1] Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them.
..... Click the link for more information.
Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World consisting of the continents of North America[1] and South America with their associated islands and regions. The Americas cover 8.3% of the Earth's total surface area (28.
..... Click the link for more information.
Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30,221,532 km² (11,668,545 sq mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area, and 20.4% of the total land area.
..... Click the link for more information.
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area (or 29.4% of its land area) and, with almost 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population.
..... Click the link for more information.
Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. Physically and geologically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, west of Asia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea,
..... Click the link for more information.
Anthem
Advance Australia Fair [1]


Capital Canberra

Largest city Sydney
..... Click the link for more information.
Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
..... Click the link for more information.
endemic, it is unique to its own place or region; it is found only there, and not found naturally anywhere else. The place must be a discrete geographical unit, often an island or island group, but sometimes a country, habitat type, or other defined area or zone.
..... Click the link for more information.
The larynx (plural larynges), colloquially known as the voicebox, is an organ in the neck of mammals involved in protection of the trachea and sound production.
..... Click the link for more information.
The hyoid bone (Lingual Bone) is a bone in the human neck, and is the only bone in the skeleton not articulated to any other bone. It is supported by the muscles of the neck and in turn supports the root of the tongue.
..... Click the link for more information.
Habitat destruction is a process of land use change in which one habitat-type is removed and replaced with another habitat-type. In the process of land-use change, plants and animals which previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity.
..... Click the link for more information.
Poaching is illegal hunting or fishing. It may be illegal because:
  • The game or fish is not in season, usually the breeding season is declared as the closed season when wildlife species are protected by law.
  • The poacher does not possess a license.

..... Click the link for more information.
Felidae
G. Fischer de Waldheim, 1817

Subfamilies

Felinae
Pantherinae
†Machairodontinae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid.
..... Click the link for more information.
Panthera
Oken, 1816

Type species
Felis pardus
Linnaeus, 1758

Panthera is a genus of the family Felidae (the cats), which contains four well-known living species: the Lion, the Tiger, the Jaguar, and the Leopard.
..... Click the link for more information.
P. tigris

Binomial name
Panthera tigris
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Historical distribution of tigers (pale yellow) and 2006 (green).

..... Click the link for more information.
P. leo

Binomial name
Panthera leo
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Distribution of lions in Africa


Synonyms
Felis leo
(Linnaeus, 1758)

..... Click the link for more information.


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus


page counter