The two hotspots for the leopards are parts of Africa and Sri Lanka. Until the experts realized that the leopards have lost 75 per cent of their historic range and the population continues to decline. And while some subspecies of the leopard are highly endangered, the species was considered reasonably secure. Of all types of big cats, it has the widest distribution range, occurring from sub-Saharan Africa, through Central Asia, across the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia. The leopard caught the experts by surprise. Read more: Guide to planning Kruger Park Safari Leopard ( Panthera pardus) African leopard (Adobe stock) The most incredible sighting was the pride of the rare white lions of Timbavati. I saw lions in Kruger National Park and the surrounding sanctuaries. The only place to see the Asiatic lion is the Gir National Park in the Indian state of Rajasthan. You can try your luck in the National Parks of Western and Central Africa. You can spot the Southern and East African lions on most classical African safaris. The Southern African and the East African lion form the second subspecies. But the recent genetic analysis revealed that Asiatic lions belong to the same subspecies as the Northern lion which also includes the Critically Endangered West African lion and the Central African lion. Traditionally there were two types of lions: the African lion and the Asiatic lion. We have already lost the Barbary lion that used to grace the wilds of Egypt, Morocco and Algeria. Today the population is restricted to fragmented populations in Sub-Saharan Africa and one Critically Endangered population in India. The second-largest cat in the world, the lion, once ranged across most of Africa and parts of Europe and Asia. Read more: Spotting tigers in Kanha National Park, India Lion ( Panthera leo) African lion (Adobe stock) The sightings included single individuals, a courting pair and a family: a tigress with three cubs. I visited Kanha a few years ago and saw a total of 15 tigers in 7 days. Some of the best National Parks in India for spotting tigers in the wild are Kanha and Bandhavgarh in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Not surprisingly, India is the best place in the world to see tigers in the wild. Today, most of the remaining tigers belong to the Bengal subspecies that occur throughout the Indian subcontinent. Thankfully, in the last few decades, intensive conservation measures have been applied in the Russian Far-east and the king of Siberian taiga was brought back from the brink of extinction. We almost lost the Siberian tiger as well, when in the 1940s as few as 40 individuals were thought to survive in the vast forests of Siberia. The remaining five subspecies are in various stages of decline. The South China tiger has already crossed the point of no return with an estimated 20 individuals left in the wild. As recently as the first half of the last century, there were tigers living in Turkey and on the Indonesian islands of Bali and Java. Sadly, the tiger is also the most endangered big cat. Tiger ( Panthera tigris) Siberian tiger (Adobe stock)Īt 320 kg, the Siberian tiger is the biggest cat in the world. So what are the 7 big cats? They are the large cats belonging to the Pantherinae subfamily of wild cats.
The big cats are some of the most charismatic animals on Earth and some of the most endangered. More on Wild Cats Big Cat Species – Panthera Lineage So if you are interested in tracking down a particular felid, make sure to check it out. One of the best sources of information on recent sightings of wild cats (and all other mammals) is the website where keen mammal watchers from around the world share their trip reports. Below I offer tips on the best tours and destinations for anyone wishing to follow in my footsteps of watching wild cats in their element. So far, I have managed to track down 18 cat species. This quest is likely to take a lifetime – some wild cat species are so elusive that they are hardly ever seen. Most of us know lions, tigers, jaguars and leopards, but what are all the other types of wild cats out there? If you consider yourself a cat person or simply curious about these charismatic animals, read on to meet the family.Ī few years ago, I set myself on an ambitious quest – to see all wild cat species in their natural habitat. From the tiny Rusty-spotted cat of Sri Lanka to the massive Siberian tiger of the Russian Far East, there are 40 species of wild cats in the world, and each of them is as beautiful as it is unique.
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