Big Cat Coloring Pages
Lions and tigers and cheetahs, plus a few smaller wild cats like the lynx and the caracal. Only four cats can truly roar: lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars. Cheetahs and cougars purr instead, just like a house cat.
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Big and Wild Cats
Caracals
Caracals can leap about three metres straight up to snatch a bird out of the air. Those long black ear tufts may help them pick up tiny sounds.
Cheetahs
Cheetahs can't roar. They chirp instead, a high little sound that's more like a bird than a big cat. Mothers use it to call their cubs.
Cougars
The cougar has more names than almost any other animal. Mountain lion, puma, panther and catamount all mean the same cat. Cougars live in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and BC but are rarely seen.
Jaguars
Jaguars love the water and are strong swimmers. For their size they have one of the most powerful bites of any cat, strong enough to crack a turtle shell.
Leopards
Most "black panthers" are really leopards or jaguars with very dark coats. In bright sunlight you can still see their spots.
Lions
Lion cubs are born with spots that fade as they grow. Some adult lions still have faint spots on their legs and bellies.
Lynx
A lynx has huge furry paws that work like snowshoes, so it can walk on deep snow without sinking. The Canada lynx hunts snowshoe hares, which have big snowy feet too.
Tigers
Tigers are the biggest cats in the world. Their stripes go right down to the skin, and no two tigers have the same pattern.
African Wild Cats
Not a big cat at all, but it belongs here anyway. The African wild cat is the ancestor of every pet cat in the world.
African wild cat coloring pages
Ice Age Cats
Smilodon
Smilodon is often called a sabre-toothed tiger, but it wasn't a tiger at all. Its two long front teeth could grow to about 28 cm.
Homotherium
Homotherium had shorter, flatter teeth than Smilodon and longer front legs. It was built for running longer distances rather than ambushing prey.
Big Cats from Mythology
Big cats turn up in myths all over the world. The Aztec god Tezcatlipoca could take the form of a jaguar, and in Egypt the goddesses Sekhmet and Pakhet were fierce lionesses.