General Big Cat Facts:
  • Hunt by sight and sound.
  • Rest a lot (to conserve energy) because they burn a of lot energy in stalking and killing their prey.
  • Largest eyes in proportion to their body.
  • Cats are an indicator species. If you save them, you will save all species under them.
  • They are threatened by encroaching civilization, sport hunting, and poaching.
  • The roar of the Bengal Tiger can be heard two miles away.
  • The Bengal Tiger is capable of killing animals twice its size.
  • Stripes are individual, each as different as our fingerprints.
  • The stripe pattern on their fur is also on their skin.
  • Male Bengal Tigers will measure 9 to 10 feet in length from the tip of their nose to the tip of their tail.
  • A male will weigh 400 to 575 pounds.
  • Tigers will live 15 to 20 years in captivity.
  • Tigers are solitary animals, getting together only to breed.
  • For more tiger facts and to see the Tigers of Shambala click here.
  • A male Mountain Lion can grow to 6 ½ feet in length and weigh 110 to 180 pounds.
  • Mountain Lions have excellent vision and can move very quickly.
  • They can jump 18 feet or more.
  • They are most active at dusk, at night, and at dawn.
  • Mountain Lions are solitary, getting together only to breed.
  • Mountain Lion cubs are born with strong facial marking and dark spots on their bodies, which fade to the subtle coloring by the time they are one year old.
  • For more cougar facts and to see the Cougars of Shambala click here.
  • Leopards live in Africa, Asia Minor, Central Asia, and the Far East.
  • They have the widest range of any wild cat.
  • They can weigh 60 to 200 pounds.
  • Leopards are nocturnal, hunting mainly at night.
  • They are agile climbers and leapers.
  • They are strong enough to carry a full grown antelope high into the branches of trees to keep their meal safe.
  • Leopards are spotted or black.
  • Black Leopards have spots as well, but they are black spots on a black background.
  • The spots go all the way to the skin.
  • Female Leopards may have 2 to 4 cubs.
  • Black and spotted cubs may be found in the same litter.
  • There is no such species as "panther." This is simply the black version of the leopard or the jaguar.
  • For more leopard facts and to see the Leopards of Shambala click here.
  • The Lion is the only cat with a tufted tail.
  • They are the only cats whose males have a mane.
  • Lions are the second largest feline in the world, the largest being the Siberian Tiger.
  • Male lions weigh 385 to 450 pounds.
  • Lionesses weigh 150 to 320 pounds.
  • A male Lion can grow to 11 feet in length.
  • The Lion is the only truly social cat, living in groups called prides.
  • A Lion's roar can be heard for 5 to 6 miles.
  • There are and estimated 30,000 to 100,000 Lions in the wild, mostly in protected areas in East and South Africa.
  • For more lion facts and to see the Lions of Shambala click here.
  • The Cheetah is found in South and East Africa and the Middle East.
  • Cheetahs have extremely keen eyesight and hunt predominately by sight.
  • The hyoid structure of the Cheetah makes it able to purr.
  • They cannot climb trees, unless the branches grow horizontally.
  • The Cheetah is the only species of feline that cannot retract its claws.
  • They can live 17 years in captivity.
 
Photos by  Bill Dow  ©2018 The Roar Foundation
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Shambala is a member of the American Sanctuary Association.