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Mammals · 15 species guides

Big Cats: Tigers, Lions & Identification

Big cats are large predatory members of the cat family Felidae, including tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, snow leopards, clouded leopards, cougars, lynxes and smaller spotted cats such as the ocelot and fishing cat; they share retractile claws, forward-facing eyes and a carnivorous diet built around ambush or pursuit hunting.

Spots versus rosettes
Leopards and jaguars both carry rosettes — spots with a pale centre — but a jaguar's rosettes often contain smaller dots inside. Cheetahs have solid black spots, not rosettes, and a distinctive black "tear line" from eye to mouth.
Build and head
Lions are the only social big cat and the only one with a marked mane in males. Tigers are heavier through the shoulders with transverse stripes. Cheetahs are slender with a small head and long legs built for speed rather than power.
Tail and proportions
Snow leopards have an exceptionally long, thick tail used for balance on slopes. Clouded leopards have the longest canine teeth relative to body size of any cat. Lynxes have tufted ears and short tails; bobcats are the smaller North American lynx.
Geography as a first filter
Jaguars are American; leopards are African and Asian. Cougars range across the Americas but never carry rosettes — they are uniform tawny or greyish. Fishing cats and Pallas's cats are Asian specialists with distinctive faces.

Big cat is an everyday category rather than a scientific one. It usually means the large, predatory members of Felidae — the cat family — though where the line is drawn varies considerably. Cheetahs and clouded leopards are included by most people despite being in separate genera from lions and tigers; the sand cat and Pallas's cat are included because they are unmistakably cats, even though both are small.

What unites the group is design rather than a single evolutionary branch. Retractile claws, binocular vision, flexible spines built for short bursts of power, and a skull and dentition shaped for killing vertebrate prey describe a tiger as well as a bobcat. The confusion pairs — leopard versus jaguar, cheetah versus leopard, cougar versus jaguar — are among the most common identification problems in mammals, which is why they belong on a dedicated page rather than buried in a long species list.

Key facts

  • Big cat is an everyday category, not a clade — cheetahs and clouded leopards sit in separate genera from lions and tigers.
  • All cats share retractile claws, forward-facing eyes and a skull built for killing vertebrate prey, but hunting style varies from ambush to pursuit.
  • Leopards and jaguars both have rosettes; jaguars often show dots inside the rosettes, and the two species never overlap in the wild.
  • Cheetahs are the only big cat that cannot fully retract its claws — an adaptation for traction during high-speed chases.
  • Lions are the only big cats that live in stable social groups; all others are largely solitary outside the breeding season.
  • Tigers are the largest living cats; several subspecies are Critically Endangered, with habitat loss and poaching the dominant threats.

How to recognise them

The features that separate this group in the field, in the order they are usually most useful.

Spots versus rosettes
Leopards and jaguars both carry rosettes — spots with a pale centre — but a jaguar's rosettes often contain smaller dots inside. Cheetahs have solid black spots, not rosettes, and a distinctive black "tear line" from eye to mouth.
Build and head
Lions are the only social big cat and the only one with a marked mane in males. Tigers are heavier through the shoulders with transverse stripes. Cheetahs are slender with a small head and long legs built for speed rather than power.
Tail and proportions
Snow leopards have an exceptionally long, thick tail used for balance on slopes. Clouded leopards have the longest canine teeth relative to body size of any cat. Lynxes have tufted ears and short tails; bobcats are the smaller North American lynx.
Geography as a first filter
Jaguars are American; leopards are African and Asian. Cougars range across the Americas but never carry rosettes — they are uniform tawny or greyish. Fishing cats and Pallas's cats are Asian specialists with distinctive faces.
The confusion pairs
Leopard versus jaguar: rosette pattern and continent. Cheetah versus leopard: solid spots and tear lines versus rosettes. Cougar versus jaguar: no rosettes, smaller head, longer tail. Ocelot versus jaguar: much smaller, chain-like spotting on the coat.

15 big cats guides

Search or filter by conservation status. Every guide carries sourced facts, IUCN status and FAQs.

Showing 1-15 of 15 animals

Animal group
A bobcat with tufted ears and spotted tawny fur crouching in dry scrubland, its short bobbed tail visible behind it.
Least Concern

Mammals

B

Bobcat

Lynx rufus (Schreber, 1777)

North America's adaptable mid-sized cat — tufted ears, bobbed tail, widespread success.

United States · Southern Canada

Open guide
An adult cheetah with a slender, spotted golden coat and distinctive black tear-mark stripes, standing alert on the African savanna.
Vulnerable

Mammals

C

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

The fastest land animal on Earth, racing toward a fragile future.

Kenya · Tanzania

Open guide
A clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) crouching low among dry leaf litter and tree roots in a forest, its tawny coat with distinctive large dark cloud-shaped blotches clearly visible along the flanks and back
Vulnerable

Mammals

C

Clouded Leopard

Neofelis nebulosa & Neofelis diardi

The forest ghost with a sabre-tooth's smile and an acrobat's ankles.

Indonesia · Malaysia

Open guide
A tawny cougar with a long tail standing on a rocky outcrop in mountain scrubland, looking alertly across its territory.
Least Concern

Mammals

C

Cougar

Puma concolor (Linnaeus, 1771)

The Americas' silent stalker — more widespread than any other wild cat.

Western North America · Central America

Open guide
Fishing cat with olive-grey spotted coat standing at the edge of a mangrove wetland with one paw in shallow water
Vulnerable

Mammals

F

Fishing Cat

Prionailurus viverrinus (Bennett, 1833) — family Felidae

A cat that swims on purpose, hooks fish with its claws, and is losing its habitat faster than surveys can track.

South Asia · Southeast Asia — wetlands, mangroves and marsh

Open guide
A wild jaguar (Panthera onca) with golden, rosette-patterned fur standing on a riverbank in the Brazilian Pantanal, its broad, powerful head and muscular jaw turned toward the camera in soft morning light.
Near Threatened globally

Mammals

J

Jaguar

Panthera onca

The Americas' largest cat — and the hardest bite of any big cat on Earth.

Brazil · Colombia

Open guide
A leopard with golden rosette-spotted coat draped over a tree branch, its muscular tail hanging below the limb.
Varies by species

Mammals

L

Leopard

Panthera pardus (Linnaeus, 1758) and clouded-leopard lineage (Neofelis)

The most adaptable big cat — rosetted hunters from African savanna to Himalayan forest.

Africa · Middle East

Open guide
An adult male lion with a dark mane resting on the open grassland of an East African savanna at golden hour, with a lioness nearby.
Vulnerable

Mammals

L

Lion

Panthera leo

The world's only social big cat, and one of Africa's most threatened icons.

Kenya · Tanzania

Open guide
A Eurasian lynx with tufted ears and spotted grey-brown fur standing in snow-dusted boreal forest, its large padded paws visible.
Least Concern

Mammals

L

Lynx

Lynx lynx (Linnaeus, 1758)

Europe's largest cat — tufted, secretive and recovering across the north.

Northern Europe · Russia

Open guide
An ocelot with a golden coat marked by black rosettes and spots, walking along a forest floor in dappled tropical light.
Least Concern

Mammals

O

Ocelot

Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758)

The spotted cat of the Neotropics — once common as a fur coat, now fighting habitat loss.

Mexico · Central America

Open guide
Pallas's cat with dense grey fur and flat round face crouching on cold steppe grassland with rocky outcrops behind
Least Concern

Mammals

P

Pallas's Cat

Otocolobus manul (Pallas, 1776) — family Felidae

A house-cat-sized feline with the face of a stuffed toy and a life spent low to the ground.

Central Asian steppe and semi-desert · From the Caspian region through Mongolia to western China

Open guide
Sand cat with pale sandy fur and large ears standing on dune sand with sparse desert vegetation at dusk
Least Concern

Mammals

S

Sand Cat

Felis margarita (Harrison, 1968) — family Felidae

A cat that does not need to drink, burrows to escape heat, and leaves almost no trace on the dunes.

Sahara Desert · Arabian Peninsula

Open guide
A snow leopard with thick smoke-grey fur and dark rosettes standing on a snow-dusted rocky ledge high in a Himalayan mountain range, its long thick tail curled around its body for warmth
Vulnerable

Mammals

S

Snow Leopard

Panthera uncia

The pale ghost of the high mountains, hunting where the air runs thin.

Pakistan

Open guide
Sunda clouded leopard with cloud-shaped spots and long canine teeth in Borneo rainforest
Vulnerable

Mammals

S

Sunda Clouded Leopard

Neofelis diardi (Cuvier, 1823) — family Felidae

A separate species since 2006 — clouded spots and sabre-like teeth in forests cleared for plantations.

Borneo · Sumatra

Open guide
A Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) crouches low and peers forward through tall green grass, its orange-and-black-striped face and amber eyes clearly visible at close range in a natural jungle setting.
Species Endangered

Mammals

T

Tiger

Panthera tigris (subspecies P. t. sondaica, P. t. jacksoni)

Asia's largest cat, clinging on in the rainforests of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.

Indonesia · Malaysia

Open guide

Conservation: what this group faces

Big cats sit at the top of food chains on land, which makes them sensitive to everything happening below them. Prey depletion from bushmeat hunting and livestock conflict removes the base their populations need; habitat fragmentation then isolates the survivors into groups too small to persist. Tigers, snow leopards and several smaller cats are Endangered or Critically Endangered, with poaching for skins and traditional-medicine markets still driving losses where enforcement is weak. Protected areas help, but a cat that ranges across a landscape larger than many countries needs connectivity between reserves, not fences around isolated pockets.

Fund mammal protection Current appeals

Big cats: frequently asked questions

What counts as a big cat?
There is no strict scientific definition. The term usually covers the large predatory members of Felidae — tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, snow leopards, clouded leopards, cougars and lynxes — plus smaller spotted cats such as the ocelot, bobcat, sand cat and fishing cat when people mean "wild cats" broadly.
What is the difference between a leopard and a jaguar?
Both have rosettes, but jaguars are stockier with a broader head and often show smaller dots inside each rosette. Geography separates them: jaguars are American, leopards African and Asian. A jaguar also has a more powerful bite relative to size, adapted for piercing turtle shells and skulls.
Is a cheetah a big cat?
Most people include it, though it sits in its own genus, Acinonyx, separate from Panthera. Cheetahs are built for speed — lighter frame, small head, semi-retractile claws — whereas lions and tigers are built for power. The black tear lines from eye to mouth are the quickest field mark.
What is the largest big cat?
The tiger. Amur tigers are the heaviest subspecies, with large males exceeding the weight of any lion. Lions are slightly taller at the shoulder in some populations, but tigers consistently reach greater total mass.
Are big cats endangered?
Many are. Tigers, snow leopards and several smaller cats are threatened or Endangered across much of their range. Habitat loss, prey depletion and poaching for skins and body parts are the main drivers. Lions have declined substantially in Africa outside a handful of protected areas.
What is the difference between a cougar and a jaguar?
Size, pattern and range. Cougars — also called puma or mountain lion — are uniform tawny or greyish with no rosettes, a smaller head and a very long tail. Jaguars are heavier, rosetted, and restricted to Central and South America. The two do not overlap in the wild.

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