The Deadliest Big Cats In The World

Amur leopard

The Amur leopard is a leopard subspecies native to the Primorye region of southeastern Russia and the Jilin Province of northeast China. It is classified as Critically Endangered since 1996 by IUCN. In 2007, only 1926 wild Amur leopards were estimated to survive. Recent data published by the World Wildlife Association indicates that there are roughly 70 adult Amur leopards in the wild today.

Bengal tiger

The Bengal tiger, also called the royal Bengal tiger, is the most numerous tiger subspecies. It is the national animal of both India and Bangladesh. By 2011, the total population was estimated at fewer than 2,500 individuals with a decreasing trend. None of the Tiger Conservation Landscapes within the Bengal tiger's range is considered large enough to support an effective population size of 250 adult individuals. Since 2010, it has been classified as endangered by the IUCN.

Cheetah

The cheetah is a big cat in the subfamily Felinae that inhabits most of Africa and parts of Iran. It is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx. The cheetah can run as fast as 109.4 to 120.7 km/h, faster than any other land animal. It covers distances up to 500 m in short bursts, and can accelerate from 0 to 96 km/h in three seconds. The cheetah's closest extant relatives are the puma and jaguarundi of the Americas. Cheetahs are notable for adaptations in the paws as they are one of the few felids with only semi-retractable claws.

Cougar

The cougar, also commonly known as the mountain lion, puma, panther, or catamount, is a large felid of the subfamily Felinae native to the Americas. Its range, from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes of South America, is the greatest of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. An adaptable, generalist species, the cougar is found in most American habitat types. It is the second-heaviest cat in the New World, after the jaguar. Secretive and largely solitary by nature, the cougar is properly considered both nocturnal and crepuscular, although sightings during daylight hours do occur. The cougar is more closely related to smaller felines, including the domestic cat, than to any species of subfamily Pantherinae, of which only the jaguar is native to the Americas.

Leopard

The leopard is one of the five "big cats" in the genus Panthera. It is a member of the family Felidae with a wide range in regions of sub-Saharan Africa, West Asia, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia to Siberia. Fossil records found in Italy suggest that in the Pleistocene it ranged as far as Europe.

Siberian Tiger

The Siberian tiger, also known as the Amur tiger, is a tiger subspecies inhabiting mainly the Sikhote Alin mountain region with a small population in southwest Primorye Province in the Russian Far East. In 2005, there were 331393 adult and subadult Amur tigers in this region, with a breeding adult population of about 250 individuals. The population had been stable for more than a decade due to intensive conservation efforts, but partial surveys conducted after 2005 indicate that the Russian tiger population was declining. By 2015, the Siberian tiger population has increased to 480540 individuals in the Russian Far East, including 100 cubs. A more detailed census revealed a total population of 562 wild Siberian tigers in Russia.

Snow leopard

The snow leopard is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because, as of 2003, the size of the global population was estimated at 4,0806,590 adults, of which fewer than 2,500 individuals may reproduce in the wild.

Jaguar

The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only extant Panthera species native to the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Americas. The jaguar's present range extends from Southwestern United States and Mexico across much of Central America and south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. Apart from a known and possibly breeding population in Arizona and the bootheel of New Mexico, the cat has largely been extirpated from the United States since the early 20th century.

Lion

The lion is one of the five big cats in the genus Panthera and a member of the family Felidae. The commonly used term African lion collectively denotes the several subspecies found in Africa. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia while other types of lions have disappeared from North Africa and Southwest Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans. They were found in most of Africa, across Eurasia from western Europe to India, and in the Americas from the Yukon to Peru. The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a major population decline in its African range of 3050% per two decades during the second half of the twentieth century. Lion populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern. Within Africa, the West African lion population is particularly endangered.

Liger

The liger is a hybrid cross between a male lion and a female tiger, a tigress. The liger has parents in the same genus but of different species. The liger is distinct from the similar hybrid tigon. The liger is the largest of all known extant felines.

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