How Many Big Cats Species Are There In The World

But somethe lion tiger leopard snow leopard clouded leopard jaguar lynx and cheetahare big.

How many big cats species are there in the world. The term big cat is used to refer to any of the four largest living members of the Panthera genus. Most like the margay are relatively small. This includes leopards jaguars cheetahs lions snow leopards and tigers.

Although numerous domestic cat breeds exist common household cats derive from a single species called Felis catus. In 1998 there were over 3 million cats in Australia 7 million in Japan and 76 million in Europe. Biologists around the world consider just six species of feline to be big cats.

There are a number of types of big cats ranging across Africa Asia and Central and South America but believe it or not the exact number of big cat species is actually open to debate. With a typical weight of 21 to 72 kgs 46 and 159 lbs it is the seventh largest big cat species in the world. Scientists agree that the common house cat is a.

Further the international cat association recognizes about seventy-one types of cats. The list does not contain cat hybrids. Other big cats including the Siberian tiger Bengal tiger and African lion have more limited ranges and are adapted to fewer habitat types.

However a more liberal and extensive definition of the term also includes species outside of Panthera including the clouded leopard cheetah Sunda clouded leopard and sometimes several species of lynx. Some experts recognize as many as 41 species. The term big cats generally refers to lions tigers leopards and jaguars the four wild cats.

The subspecies listed have been assessed separately as. They recognize cat breeds ranging between these two lowest and highest numbers. Historically these big cats were found throughout India.