Thispresentationaimstoteachyouaboutbigcats.Whiletraditionallythis

definitiononlyincludesthefourlargestlivingwildcats,wehaveexpanded

onthislist.

Thispresentationhasthefollowingstructure:

Slide1- WhatisaBigCat?

Slide2- Tiger

Slide3- Lion

Slide4- Jaguar

Slide5- Leopard

Slide6- Cheetah

Slide7 - Puma,CougarandMountainLion

Slide8 - Lynx

Slide9- BigCatFacts

Slide10- AustralianCurriculumMapping

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WhatisaBigCat?

TherearefivespeciesinthePanthera genus,andthefourlargestonesare

consideredtobe“bigcats.”Thetigeristhelargest,followedinorderof

sizebythelion,jaguar,andleopard.Thesefouraretheonlycatswiththe

abilitytoroar.ThesnowleopardisthefifthmemberofthePanthera

genus,butitcannotroar.

Theabilitytoroarcomesfromhavinganelongatedlarynxandafloating

hyoidboneintheneck.Thelongerthelarynx,thestrongertheroar.

Amongthesefourbigcats,thelionhasthelongestlarynx,soithasthe

loudestroar.

Otherspeciesaresometimesincludedonthelistofbigcats,althoughthey

cannotroar.Thesearethecheetah,puma,cougar,mountainlion,andlynx.

BigcatsofonespeciesoranothercanbefoundinNorthAmerica,South

America,Africa,Europe,andAsia.

Likeallcats(includingthedomesticcatsthatpeoplekeepaspets),bigcats

arecarnivores.Bigcatsareapexpredatorsintheirecosystems.Themain

threatstobigcatpopulationsarehabitdestruction,hunting,andtheloss

oftheirpreypopulations.

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Tiger

Manypeoplebelievelionstobethelargestofthebigcats.However,tigers

arethelargestofthebigcat.Whilelionscanbetallerandlonger,tigersfar

surpasslionsinweightandmass.Theaverageweightoftigersinthe20th

centurywasbetween180and306 kgformalesand100and167 kgfor

females.However,largetigersweretargetedandshotbyhunters.Today,a

maleSiberiantigertypicallyweighsbetween160and180kgwhilethe

femaleSiberiantigerweighsbetween110and140kg.

Atiger’sdietisanopportunisticoneandcanincludebirds,fish,rodents,

insects,reptiles,andpreymuchlargerthanthemselves,suchaselephants

andrhinos.Availabilityofsufficientpreyiscriticaltothesurvivalofthe

tiger,whichneedstokill50to60largepreyperyear.

NativetoAsia,tigersareresponsibleformorehumandeathsthanany

othercat.TheBengaltigerhasproventobeparticularlylethaltohumans,

mostlyduetohumanencroachmentontheirhabitat.Tigershavenow

disappearedfromsouthwestandcentralAsiaaswellastwoIndonesian

islands.Theycurrentlyinhabitlessthansixpercentoftheiroriginalrange.

ThelargestnumberoftigerstodayisintheUnitedStates,livingin

captivity.Inadditiontohabitatloss,poachingfortheillegalanimaltradeis

oneofthegreatestthreatstothetiger.

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Lion

Thelion’smane(thelonghairaroundtheirheads)isoneofthemost

distinctivefeaturesoftheadultmalelion.Suchgenderfeaturesarerare

amongmammals.Theaverageadultmalelionis1.4to2metersfromnose

torump,withatailingmeasuring67to100cm.Itgenerallyweighs120-

191kg.

NativetoAfricaandpartsofIndia,lionsareverysocialanimals.Their

familyor“pride”structureissimilartothatofcanines,whicharepack

animals,ratherthanfelines,whichtendtobesolitary.Thepridehunts

togetherandshareinthenurtureandcareoftheircubs,evennursing

eachother’syoung.Apridecanconsistofasmanyas30relatedfemales,

guardedbytwoorthreemales.Femalelionsdothe“lion’sshare”oftheir

pack’shuntingbecausetheyaresmallerandagilerthanmales.Theycan

huntsolobutoftenhuntingroups,usuallyatnight.Theirpreferredprey

includezebras,rhinos,hippos,giraffesandbuffalo,buttheyalsoeat

smallerpreysuchasmice,birdsandlizards.Thelionpopulationhasbeen

decliningatanalarmingrate.Intwodecades,Africa’slionpopulationhas

decreasedby43percent.Anestimated23,000lionsremaininthewild.

Humanactivityincludingsettlement,landdevelopment,andagriculture

arethemainthreatstothelion.

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Jaguar

Thejaguarisoftenconfusedwiththeleopard;however,thejaguaris

stockierwithshorterlegsandtail,alargerhead,andmuchmorepowerful

paws.Adultmalejaguarscanreachalengthof2metersandcanweigh

from68to90kg.Jaguarscanbefoundinrainforests,savannahs,and

swamps,ofteninthevicinityoffreshwater,astheyareexcellent

swimmers.Jaguarswillhuntalmostanyavailableprey.However,they

favour wildpigsandrodents.Theyarealsoknowntoeatdeer,crocodiles,

snakes,monkeys,andturtles.

JaguarsoncewerefoundintheUnitedStatesbutwerehuntedto

extinctioninthe1940s.TherearestilljaguarsinLatinAmerica,but

deforestationisamajorthreattotheirsurvival.Farmersandranchers

oftenshootjaguarsonsighttopreventthemfrompreyingoncattleand

otherlivestock.

Thejaguarisfullyprotectedatthenationallevelacrossmostofitsrange,

withhuntingprohibitedinArgentina,Brazil,Colombia,CostaRica,French

Guiana,Honduras,Mexico,Nicaragua,Panama,Paraguay,Suriname,

UnitedStates,andVenezuela,andhuntingrestrictionsareinplacein

GuatemalaandPeru.Specificconservationplansforthespecieshavebeen

developedinBrazil,Honduras,MexicoandPanama.

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Leopard

Althoughtheyarethesmallestofthebigcats,leopardsareconsideredone

ofthestrongestandmostagile.Theycancarryheavypreyoverlong

distancesandeasilyclimbtreestorestinthebranches.Theyhaveeven

beenknowntocarrypreyupintoatreetoprotecttheirfoodfromother

predators.Leopardsarealsoextremelyfast.Theycanrunupto58kmper

hour.Theirpowerfullegscanpropelthemforwardinleapsofupto6

metersmeasuredhorizontally.Likejaguars,theyarealsoexcellent

swimmers.

Leopardsaresolitaryanimalsandarehardtotrackorfindinthewild,

primarilyduetotheirabilitytosurviveinawidevarietyofhabitats.The

Himalayansnowleopardisprobablythebestexampleoftheelusivenessof

thisbigcat.

Theabilitytoclimbtreeswitheaseisnottheonlythingleopardshavein

commonwithdomesticatedcats– theygrowlwhenangryandpurrwhen

content.

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Cheetah

Thecheetah’snamecomesfromtheHindiword“chita,”whichmeans

“spottedone.”Cheetahshavebetween2,000to3,000spotsthatserveas

camouflage.

Withlong,slenderlegsandalongtail,cheetahsarethefastestlandanimal

intheworld,reachingspeedsofupto113km/hour.Theycangofrom0to

100km/hourinonly3seconds.However,theycanmaintaintopspeedfor

onlyabout400meters.Acheetah’srespiratoryrateandbodytemperature

risesharplywhenrunningfastandcancausetheanimaltocollapseifthey

gettoohigh.Thecheetahisapursuithunter,andapproximatelyhalfofa

cheetah’spreymanagetogetawaywhentheirpursueroverheats.

Thecheetah’shabitatsincludeopengrasslands,savannahs,dense

vegetationand,sometimesmountainousterrain.Namibiaishometothe

largestcheetahpopulation.Becauseoflanddevelopment,95percentof

thecheetahsinNamibialiveoncultivatedland,whichexposesthemtothe

riskofbeingshotbyfarmersorranchers.Thecheetahisasolitaryanimal

thatmarksitsterritorybyurinating,primarilytowarnoffothercheetahs.

Cheetahscommunicatethroughavarietyofvocalisations includingpurrs,

barks,growls,hissesandahighpitchedchirpingsound.

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Puma,CougarandMountainLion

Cougars,alsoknownasmountainlionsandpumas,arethelargestcatin

thegenus“felis.”ThecougarisnativetotheUnitedStatesandfoundin

Washington,inthePacificNorthwest.Thecougar’sgeographicrange

stretchesfromnorthwesternCanadatoPatagoniaandSouthAmerica. An

estimated2,500cougarsliveinthisarea,andtheirnumbersaregrowing.

Theadultmalemountainlioncanweighupto90kgandadultfemalesup

to60kg.Theyhavealongbodywithasmallhead,shortface,andvery

longneckandtail.Theirearsareroundandshort.Theircolour istypically

evenlygreyorreddishtanandwhitemuzzleandchest.

Cougarsarepredatorycarnivores.Theyareextremelygoodathidingand

areveryrarelyseeninthewild.Theyhuntdayandnight,andtheirprimary

preyisdeer.

Cougarscannotroar,buttheycanjumpasfaras5.4metersfromasitting

position.

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Lynx

Thefourspeciesbelongingtothelynxgenusarethe:Spanish,Canadian,

Eurasian,andbobcat.Despitetheircommonnames,thedesertorAfrican

lynx(orcaracal)andtheswamplynx(alsocalledjunglecat)arenot

membersofthelynxgenus.

LynxcanbefoundinAsia,Europe,andNorthAmerica;however,the

populationisthreatenedinsomeareasduetopoaching.

Lynxarebeautifulanimals,withthickfurandavariationofcolours

dependingontheseason.Theycanrangefromlightbrowninsummerto

greyinthewinter.

Lynxhaveextremelysharpvisionandcandetectamouseasfarawayas60

meters.Theyarecarnivoresandprimarilyhuntsnowshoehare,mice,

squirrels,andbirds.Largerspeciesoflynxsometimeshuntbiggerprey,

suchasdeer.

Lynxaresolitaryandelusiveanimals,onlygatheringtogetherduringthe

matingseason.Theycansurviveupto14yearsinthewild.

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BigCatFacts

• ThenumberoftigersincaptivityinChinanowfaroutweighsthe

numberinthewildbecausetheyarebeingbredtomakeTigerBone

wine;

• Malelionslosetheirmanewhenneutered;

• Likedomesticatedcats,bigcatsareattractedtocatnip;

• TheSiberiantigerisconsideredthemostpatientpredatorandalsothe

mostbrutal;

• In2005,anEthiopiangirlwhohadbeenkidnappedandbeatenby

sevenmenwasrescuedbyaprideoflionsthatchasedthemenoffand

stayedtoprotectheruntilhelparrived;

• IntheSundarban TigerReserveofBengal,peoplewearmasksonthe

backoftheirheadsbecausetigersonlyattackfrombehind;

• In18th-centuryEngland,ifyouwantedtovisitazoo,thepriceof

admissionwasadogoracat,whichwouldbefedtothelions;

• Cheetahsonlyneedtodrinkwatereverythreeorfourdays;

• Jaguarscanbitedownwithapproximately907kgofforce.Among

mammals,onlythehyenahasastrongerbite;

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AustralianCurriculumMapping

GRADE5SCIENCE(ACSSU043):Livingthingshavestructuralfeaturesand

adaptationsthathelpthemtosurviveintheirenvironment.

GRADE6SCIENCE(ACSSU094):Thegrowthandsurvivaloflivingthingsare

affectedbythephysicalconditionsoftheirenvironment.

YEAR7SCIENCE(ACSSU112):Interactionsbetweenorganisms,including

theeffectsofhumanactivitiescanberepresentedbyfoodchainsandfood

webs.

YEAR9SCIENCE(ACSSU176):Ecosystemsconsistofcommunitiesof

interdependentorganismsandabioticcomponentsof

the environment; matter andenergyflowthroughthesesystems.

YEAR10:SCIENCE(ACHGK070):Human-inducedenvironmentalchanges

thatchallengesustainability.

SUSTAINABILITY(01.9):Sustainablefuturesresultfromactionsdesignedto

preserveand/orrestorethequalityanduniquenessofenvironments.

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FORMOREINFORMATION,pleasevisitwww.mygreenworld.org oremail

info@mygreenworld.org togetintouchwithus.

Downloadourmobilegameapp,WorldoftheWild,andseehowyoucan

participateinvirtualwildlifeconservation.