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All species currently have populations that are decreasing. The principal threats to big cats vary by geographic location but primarily consist of habitat destruction and poaching. In Africa, many big cats are hunted by pastoralists or government "problem animal control" officers.
The head is small and more rounded compared to other big cats. [66] Saharan cheetahs have canine-like slim faces. [64] The ears are small, short and rounded; they are tawny at the base and on the edges and marked with black patches on the back. The eyes are set high and have round pupils. [61]
An illustration of a cheetah cub (Acinonyx jubatus guttata) by Joseph Wolf in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1867The Southern African cheetah was first described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in his book Die Säugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen (The Mammals illustrated as in Nature with Descriptions), published in 1775.
The earliest African cheetah fossils from the early Pleistocene have been found in the lower beds of the Olduvai Gorge site in northern Tanzania. [7]Not much was known about the East African cheetah's evolutionary story, although at first, the East and Southern African cheetahs were thought to be identical as the genetic distance between the two subspecies is low. [13]
The BBC Television show titled "Big Cat Diary" was filmed in the Maasai Mara. [20] The show followed the lives of the big cats living in the reserve. The show highlighted scenes from the Reserve's Musiara marsh area and the Leopard Gorge, the Fig Tree Ridge areas and the Mara River, separating the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara. [21]
The caracal (Caracal caracal) (/ ˈ k ær ə k æ l /) is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ears, relatively short tail, and long canine teeth .
The big cat was a symbol and steed of fertility goddess Inanna. [250] Lions decorate the Processional Way leading to the Ishtar Gate in Babylon which was built by Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century BCE. The Lion of Babylon symbolised the power of the king and protection of the land against enemies, but was also invoked for good luck. [258]
Wild cats occur in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. Some wild cat species are adapted to forest and savanna habitats, some to arid environments, and a few also to wetlands and mountainous terrain. Their activity patterns range from nocturnal and crepuscular to diurnal, depending on their preferred prey species. [8]