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Within the Animalia Kingdom, felines have always occupied an important link, mainly within the food chain, since they are considered one of the large groups of land predators. Many of them have been revered by ancient civilizations, such as cats in ancient Egypt and the admiration of the jaguar in Guatemala. There are many examples of felines that currently coexist with human beings in different corners of the planet, almost all of them being wild species.
If you want to know the different types of felines, their characteristics and examplesContinue reading this Green Ecologist article, in which you will also learn to group them according to whether they are big wild cats, wild cats or domestic cats.
What are felines and their characteristics
Commonly called felines or felines, the members of the Family Felidae, belong to the group of placental mammals, specifically, those of the Order Carnivora. Between the main characteristics of felines stand out:
- They are good runners, very agile and capable of climbing trees and climbing rocks with ease.
- They are large carnivorous predators, occupying high positions in the food chain. Learn more about what are predatory animals, types and examples here.
- Although not all, most species tend to live alone, with the females being in charge of protecting the young during the first 2 years of life.
- They emit hoarse roars that allow them to communicate if they are in large areas.
Types of felines - list with examples
Here we show you lists of types of felines, according to their size and whether they are wild or domestic:
Big wild cats
- Lion (Panthera leo)
- Tiger (Panthera tigris)
- Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)
- Jaguar (Panthera onca)
- Cougar (Puma concolor)
- Leopard common (Panthera pardus)
- Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)
- Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis)
- Longibando leopard or clouded panther (Neofelis nebulosa)
Wild cats
- Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx)
- Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
- Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)
- Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis)
- Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)
- Jaguarundí (Puma yagouaroundi)
- Flat head cat (Prionailurus planiceps)
- Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii)
- Black-and-white catFelis nigripes)
- Fisher cat (Prionailurus viverrinus)
- Leopard catPrionailurus bengalensis)
- Borneo red cat (Catopuma badia)
- Andean catLeopardus jacobitus)
- Margay or tigrillo (Leopardus wiedii)
- Serval (Leptailurus serval)
- Caracal (Caracal caracal)
Domestic cats
- Domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus)
Lion
The king of the savannah, the lion (Panthera leo), is known worldwide as one of the big felines more majestic. Present exclusively in the African continent, lions play an important biological role within the proper functioning of the ecosystems to which they belong, keeping predator-prey relationships in balance.
Their amazing group hunting skills and fearsome jaws make them one of the fiercest predators in the feline world, being the only cat species that live in herds, always keeping in mind the hierarchy between individuals and the presence of a dominant alpha male. They are capable of organizing amazing group hunting strategies, which lionesses mainly do, as well as dividing the tasks of taking care of the young among different females of the pride, and sharing among multiple individuals the prey they have hunted.
Tiger
For sure, the Tiger (Panthera tigris) It is also considered, worldwide, one of the most surprising big cats. They find their natural habitat in the East, in countries like India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Siberia, where they are both revered and feared. At present there are 6 subspecies of tigers, being, probably, the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) and the Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris virgata), the best known.
In recent years, tigers have seen their natural range drastically reduced, being forced to approach human settlements in search of food, with the consequent hunting and killing of many of these cats. Learn more about them with these Green Ecologist articles on Endangered Tigers and Why the White Tiger is Endangered.
Cheetah
Did you know that the fastest land animal on the planet It is a feline? We talk about Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), one of the most prominent felines on the African continent. Its aerodynamic body allows it to travel short and long distances at high speed, guaranteeing the hunt for its prey. The color of its body with spots and the black lines under the eyes, allow it to camouflage itself among the scarce grasslands of the savannas and acclimatize to the high temperatures.
We will tell you more about them in this other post about The endangered cheetah.
Jaguar
The jaguar, yaguar or yaguareté (Panthera onca) is he largest feline that inhabits America, being the jungles of Guatemala its main area of distribution. At present, it is one of the big cats considered in danger of extinction, mainly due to the threats they suffer from poaching, and the population decline of its most common prey, which includes deer and monkeys. Today the loss of up to 37% of the natural habitat of the jaguar is assured.
Learn more about this great feline in this other article dedicated to the species: Why the jaguar is in danger of extinction.
Cougar
Considered the second largest feline in America, the Puma (Puma concolor) It inhabits forests and jungles from Canada to the Patagonian region in Argentina and Chile.
Commonly known also as mountain lion or mountain panther, the puma is one of the most important carnivorous predators of the ecosystems in which it is found, and that, unfortunately, has been the most affected in recent decades. Along with the decrease in the number of available prey, is added the difficult access to them, since the fragmentation of habitats seriously damages the hunting habits of the pumas.
Leopards
Different leopard species They inhabit the forests and jungles of southern Asia and southern Africa. Commonly known as brown panthers, the common leopardsPanthera pardus) sometimes have a completely black coat, receiving in these cases the common name of Black Panther. Leopards have mainly nocturnal hunting habits and activity, characterized by their stealth and speed of attack as the main hunting strategies. Among the most amazing leopard species are:
- Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia).
- Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis).
- Longibando leopard or clouded panther (Neofelis nebulosa).
Some of these species are in critical danger of extinction, such as the Amur leopard, of which barely 25 individuals remain alive, while the snow leopard is in a vulnerable state, due to the scarcity of prey and the conditions adverse climatic conditions that characterize the high mountain regions in which it inhabits.
Lynxes
Beyond the big cats seen so far in the article, lynxes stand out as another of the most abundant groups of cats on the planet. Is about medium size felines and with a wide geographic distribution. Lynxes are predators with a high interest in the proper functioning of the ecosystems to which they belong. They are characterized by being very elusive and difficult to see animals, with great agility and mainly nocturnal hunting habits. Between the species of lynx most emblematic include:
- Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)
- Bobcat or Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
- Boreal or Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx)
- Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis)
The example of the Iberian lynx stands out, as one of the felines with the greatest protection and conservation measures at present, since its area of distribution is very restricted and more and more individuals die due to abuses and other irresponsible human activities, such as poaching. Currently, there are protection and captive breeding measures in place to keep the lynx populations stable and increasing, mainly located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in the Doñana National and Natural Park.
Wild cats
To learn more names of species of medium-sized felines, it is possible to group them as wild cats, since each and every one of these species live in the wild in forests and jungles, mainly in the Asian continent. Let's see some of these species to better understand the variety of wild cats that exist on the planet:
- Flat head cat (Prionailurus planiceps): Malay Peninsula and Sumatra.
- Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii): Southeast Asian
- Black-and-white catFelis nigripes): South Africa
- Fisher cat (Prionailurus viverrinus): Indonesia
- Leopard catPrionailurus bengalensis): Pakistan, Philippines, Sumatra and Mongolia
- Borneo red cat (Catopuma badia): borneo island
- Andean catLeopardus jacobitus): Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina
- Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis): Central America and South America
- Jaguarundí (Puma yagouaroundi): from the southern United States to central Argentina.
- Margay or tigrillo (Leopardus wiedii): Central America and South America
- Serval (Leptailurus serval): central and southern Africa
- Caracal (Caracal caracal): Africa and West Asia
Domestic cat
Faced with the great variety of species of wild cats that inhabit different parts of the planet, there is only a kind of domestic cat, the famous domestic catFelis silvestris catus). The domestic cat is one of the best-known examples of animals that humans have domesticated throughout our history, either to simply obtain their company, or to have some kind of help and / or benefit from them. . In the case of domestic cats, these are considered companion animals that, on occasions, have been considered mythological figures and of great reference in cultures such as Asian, Egyptian and Greek.
They follow a carnivorous feeding, with the occasional exception of omnivorous feeding, they are great hunters of small animals and have great agility and the ability to see in the dark. Many have nocturnal habits and are capable of having exclusively domestic habits or, on the contrary, wild habits such as street cats or in mountains.
If you liked knowing the different types of felines, their characteristics and examples, we recommend this other post by Green Ecologist about the Difference between leopard, cheetah and jaguar.
If you want to read more articles similar to Types of felines, their characteristics and examples, we recommend that you enter our Wild Animals category.
Bibliography- Ávila, D. M. et al., (2016) Overlap in activity patterns between big cats and their main prey in northern Quintana Roo, Mexico. Therya Magazine, Peace. Volume 7 (3).
- Castaño, C. et al., (2013) Felines and their role in comprehensive regional planning based on key species. Conservation Plan for Felines of the Colombian Caribbean.
- Charre, J. F. et al., (2015) Distribution patterns of wild cats (Carnívora: Felidae) in the dry tropics of Central-Western Mexico. Tropical Biology Magazine, San José. Volume 63 (3).
