There are different varieties of big cats. Wild cats that are not included are the following: cheetahs, and cougars. They do not have the Hyoid bone, which makes a big cat, a big cat. Cheetahs and cougars belong to different genus. Cheetahs belong to Acinonyx, while cougars belong to Puma.

The smallest big cat is the snow leopard, which is most closely related to the tiger, which is the biggest. Snow leopards live in Central South Asia, in high mountains. Snow leopards cannot roar, and they make a sound called a “chuff.” This sounds like a purr being pushed out of the mouth. This sounds similar to a tiger’s chuff, I’d imagine. Snow leopards don’t purr either, so they chuff when they’re happy. Tigers do the same thing. Snow leopards can mew, growl, and yowl aside from chuffing. When a snow leopard chuffs, it is called a Prusten.

Tigers are the largest of the big cats and are characterized by their stripes. Tigers also cannot purr. They roar chuff, and growl. Tigers’ roars can be heard from two miles away. There are different species of tigers, such as the Sumatran, Indo-Chinese, Bengal, Amur, and South Chinese. The biggest species is the Siberian. White tigers are not a species on their own, they have a skin condition called leucism, which affects the pigmentation in their skin. Black tigers exist, but similarly to white tigers, they have a skin condition called Melanism, or Pseudomelanism.

Lions, which were wrongly named king of the jungle, live in the Savannah. Lions are commonly characterized by their thick manes, and for having the loudest roar. When a Lion is just a cub, they have spots, which fade over time. Sometimes, a lioness can have a mane and may act just like a male. This is just called a Maned Lioness. There are different species of lions, but I don’t want to look into that right now. White lions, I’m sure are just caused by leucism, or it could be an actual color for the species itself. Lions are not the biggest or the strongest, and the male lions don’t actually do anything. The lionesses do all the work, while the males just lounge around, eat, and keep other males away from their prides. I believe that Lions should now just be called Queens of the Savannah, it sounds better in my opinion.

Sorry this is short, I don’t have much more to say about big cats. Really.

-Sage