This list of largest cats shows the 10 largest extant Felidae species, ordered by maximum reported weight and size of wild individuals on record. The list does not contain cat hybrids, such as the liger or tigon.
Following list contains size (weight and length) measurements for wild adult males of each species:
Rank | Common name | Scientific name | Image | Weight range (kg) | Maximum weight (kg) | Length range (m) | Maximum length (m) [lower-alpha 1] | Shoulder height (cm) | Native range by continent(s) | Range map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tiger | Panthera tigris | 126-221 [1] | 317 (Verified) [2] 387.8 (Unverified) [3] | 2.3-3.9 [4] | 4.0 [5] [6] | 70-110 [7] | Asia | ||
2 | Lion | Panthera leo | 160–195 [8] [9] | 313 (Verified); [10] [11] [12] [ page needed ] 360 (Unverified) [12] [ page needed ] [lower-alpha 2] | 2.7-3.5 [13] | 3.875 [11] | 90-135 [14] | Africa, Asia | ||
3 | Jaguar | Panthera onca | 56.1–104.5 [15] | 148 [16] | 1.8-2.7 [17] | 2.8 [18] | 68-80 [19] | North and South America | ||
4 | Cougar | Puma concolor | 53.1-71 [15] | 105.2(Verified) [20] 125.2(unverified) [21] | 1.5-2.4 [22] | 2.8 [23] | 53-88 [24] | North and South America | ||
5 | Leopard | Panthera pardus | 30–65.8 [25] [26] | 108 [27] | 1.6-2.3 [28] | 2.75 [29] [30] | 44-78 [31] | Africa, Europe and Asia | ||
6 | Cheetah | Acinonyx jubatus | 36.7-54.1 [32] [33] | 69 [34] | 1.5-2.3 [35] | 2.5 [36] [37] [38] | 77-94cm [39] | Africa, Asia | ||
7 | Snow leopard | Panthera uncia | 42 [40] | 53.8 [41] | 1.6-2.1 [42] | 2.5 [43] [44] | 60-66 [45] | Asia | ||
8 | Eurasian lynx | Lynx lynx | 17.4-21.7 [15] | 38 [46] | 80-1.3 [47] | 1.5 [48] [49] | 60-71 [50] | Asia, Europe | ||
9 | Clouded leopard | Neofelis nebulosa(diardi)? [lower-alpha 3] | 16-23 [51] | 26 [51] | 1.2-1.6 [52] | 1.9 [53] | 46-56 [54] | Asia | ||
10 | Caracal | Caracal caracal | 9.8-14.5 [15] | 19 [55] | 0.78-1.08 [55] | 1.08 [55] | 40-50 [56] | Africa, Asia |
Panthera is a genus within the family Felidae, it is one of two extant genera in the subfamily Pantherinae, and contains the largest living members of the cat family. There are five living species: the jaguar, leopard, lion, snow leopard and tiger, as well as a number of extinct species.
The cougar, also known as the panther, mountain lion, catamount and puma, is a large cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild, terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the most widespread in the world. Its range spans the Canadian Territory of Yukon, British Columbia and Alberta provinces, the Rocky Mountains and areas in the Western United States. Further south, its range extends through Mexico to the Amazon Rainforest and the southern Andes Mountains in Patagonia. It is an adaptable, generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. It prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking but also lives in open areas.
The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus Panthera, namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard, as well as the non-pantherine cheetah and cougar.
A purr or whirr is a tonal fluttering sound made by some species of felids, including both larger, outdoor cats and the domestic cat, as well as two species of genets. It varies in loudness and tone among species and in the same animal. In smaller and domestic cats it is known as a purr, while in larger felids, such as the panther, it is called a whirr.
In Mexican folklore, the onza is a legendary cat species.
A Congolese spotted lion, also known by the portmanteau lijagulep, is the hybrid of a male lion and female jaguar-leopard hybrid. Several lijaguleps have been bred, but only one appears to have been exhibited as a Congolese spotted lion. It was most likely given that name by a showman because the public were more interested in exotic captured animals than in captive-bred hybrids.
A felid hybrid is any of a number of hybrids between various species of the cat family, Felidae. This article deals with hybrids between the species of the subfamily Felinae.
The Pantherinae is a subfamily of the Felidae; it was named and first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1917 as only including the Panthera species. The Pantherinae genetically diverged from a common ancestor between 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago and 10.67 to 3.76 million years ago.
The Fort Worth Zoo is a zoo in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, and is home to 7,000 native and exotic animals. It has been named as a top zoo in the nation by Family Life magazine, the Los Angeles Times and USA Today, as well as one of the top zoos in the South by Southern Living Reader's Choice Awards.
A rosette is a rose-like marking or formation found on the fur and skin of some animals, particularly cats. Rosettes are used to camouflage the animal, either as a defense mechanism or as a stalking tool. Predators use their rosettes to simulate the different shifting of shadows and shade, helping the animals to remain hidden from their prey. Rosettes can be grouped in clusters around other spots, or may appear as blotches on the fur.
Afghanistan has long been known for diverse wildlife. Many of the larger mammals in the country are categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as globally threatened. These include the snow leopard, Marco Polo sheep, Siberian musk deer, markhor, urial, and the Asiatic black bear. Other species of interest are the ibex, the gray wolf, and the brown bear, striped hyenas, and numerous bird of prey species. Most of the Marco Polo sheep and ibex are being poached for food, whereas wolves, snow leopards and bears are being killed for damage prevention.
Alan Robert Rabinowitz was an American zoologist who served as the president, CEO, and chief scientist at Panthera Corporation, a nonprofit conservation organization devoted to protecting the world's 40 wild cat species. Called the "Indiana Jones of Wildlife Protection" by Time, he studied jaguars, clouded leopards, Asiatic leopards, tigers, Sumatran rhinos, bears, leopard cats, raccoons, cervidae, and civets.
Wildlife diversity is a notable feature of Nepal. Because of the variance in climate, from tropical to arctic, Nepal has a large variety of plants and animals. Wildlife tourism is a major source of tourism in the country. There are some animal species which are unique to Nepal, such as the spiny babbler. Nepal is also host to many rhododendron species. Nepal has numerous national parks and reserves to protect its diverse fauna. Nepal is a biodiversity hot spot with ecoregions broadly comprising the mountainous ecoregion, the savanna and grasslands ecoregion of the terai (foothills), and the Rara Lake ecoregion.
Parc des Félins is a zoological park in France dedicated to the breeding and conservation of wild members of the cat family. It is located in the commune of Lumigny-Nesles-Ormeaux in Seine-et-Marne, about 53.6 km (33.3 mi) southeast of Paris.
The snow leopard, occasionally called ounce, is a species of large cat in the genus Panthera of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and is expected to decline about 10% by 2040. It is mainly threatened by poaching and habitat destruction following infrastructural developments. It inhabits alpine and subalpine zones at elevations of 3,000–4,500 m (9,800–14,800 ft), ranging from eastern Afghanistan, the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau to southern Siberia, Mongolia and western China. In the northern part of its range, it also lives at lower elevations.
Felidae Conservation Fund (FCF) is a California-based non-profit organization dedicated to preserving wild cats and their habitats. The organization supports and promotes international wild cat research and conservation by collaborating on field research projects, partnering with other environmental organizations, and developing community outreach and education programs.
Panthera Corporation, or Panthera, is a charitable organization devoted to preserving wild cats and their ecosystems around the globe. Founded in 2006, Panthera is devoted to the conservation of the world’s 40 species of wild cats and the vast ecosystems they inhabit. Their team of biologists, data scientists, law enforcement experts and wild cat advocates studies and protects the seven species of big cats: cheetahs, jaguars, leopards, lions, pumas, snow leopards and tigers. Panthera also creates targeted conservation strategies for the world’s most threatened and overlooked small cats, such as fishing cats, ocelots and Andean cats. The organization has offices in New York City and Europe, as well as offices in Mesoamerica, South America, Africa and Asia.
Many different species of mammal can be classified as cats (felids) in the United States. These include domestic cat, of the species Felis catus; medium-sized wild cats from the genus Lynx; and big cats from the genera Puma and Panthera. Domestic cats vastly outnumber wild cats in the United States.
Cheetah's tails can be nearly 3 feet long, or over 80cm long. Taking these measurements together makes some cheetahs nearly 8 feet long, or over 230cm long, from their nose to the tip of their tail
They can measure from 40 to 60 inches in length, measured from the head to the hind quarters. The tail can add a further 24 to 32 inches bringing the total overall length up to 7.5 feet.