TIGERS: At the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum
Cats by John Seidensticker and Susan Lumpkin Zoo Store Online |
Cats are Mammals, in the Order Carnivora, in the Family Felidae.
From the three-pound rusty-spotted cat to the 500-pound tiger, cats of all sizes are found all over the world, except in Australia, Madagascar, Antarctica, and Greenland. All 40 species are strict carnivores, and most are solitary and elusive. Lions and tigers are the largest cats, while leopards, snow leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, and pumas are medium-sized. The remaining cats are all small, weighing less than 50 pounds. Many big and small cats are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation and poaching for fur and traditional medicine.
Lions
Until about 12,000 years ago, the lion roamed a larger area than any other mammal (besides man): Africa, Europe, the
Middle East, Asia as far north as Siberia, and the Americas from
Alaska to Peru. Climate changes and man's influence have
restricted the lion to its present range of sub-Saharan Africa
and India's Gir Forest. more
Tigers
Unlike lions, which live in prides on open plains, solitary
tigers live and hunt in forests. Only six of the nine tiger
subspecies survive, and one of these—the South China
tiger—is down to a population of less than 50. Of the
three island subspecies (Balinese, Javan, and Sumatran) the
only one remaining is the Sumatran tiger, which is being bred
at the National Zoo. more
Bobcats
Bobcats have two or three kittens per litter, which are cared for only by their mothers. When the kittens are several weeks old, their mother brings them live mice so they can practice hunting, but they do not hunt for themselves until they are nine or ten months old. more
Pumas
The puma can kill and drag prey up to seven times its own
weight. The puma, also known as the mountain lion, cougar,
or, in Florida, the Florida panther, originally ranged from
northern Canada to the southern tip of South America. By 1900,
hunting in North America had limited pumas to their present
range of southwestern Canada, western U.S. wilderness areas,
southern Florida, and isolated areas in Mexico. They still
occur in parts of Central and South America.
Domesticated cats
Cats were first domesticated about 4,000 years ago by the Egyptians, who worshiped felines.
Fact Sheets
Bobcat (not at the Zoo)
Caracal
Cheetah
Clouded Leopard
Fishing Cat
Leopard Cat
Lion
Serval (not at the Zoo)
Tiger