for wildlifers

1. Cat family Introduction

2. Evolution of Cats
 Evolved from sub order Felidae around 30 million
years ago
 They are ambush predators
 Hunt their prey by stealthily stalking them and
then attacking from a close distance
 Cats have retractable claws, Cushioned paws
and digitigrades style of walking (walking on the
toes)

3. Big cats
 Falls in subfamily “Pantherinae”
 Difference b/w big cats and small cats are their
size,prey base and home range
 There are 5 big cats in world ,4 are found in India
 Tiger –Panthera tigris
 Lion- Panthera leo
 Leopard- Panthera pardus
 Snow leopard- Panthera uncia

4. Asiatic lion

5. Small wild Cats
 Jungle Cat
 Asiatic golden cat
 Rusty spotted cat
 Caracal
 Eurasian Lynx
 Asiatic wild cat
 Mainland leopard cat
 Fishing cat
 Pallas’s cat

6. Jungle Cat

7. Mainland leopard cat

8. Cat Habitat
 Tiger prefers to dwell in dense forest in tropical
and subtropical regions-Safety,Cover and
Camouflage to stalk its prey
 The lions prefer open habitats of arid and semi
arid open forest and grasslands-Hunt less
secretively than tigers, live in pride and spend
most of the time exposed to sun

9.  Leopard can survive- rocky scrub and tree less
terrain as well as evergreen forests, adapted to
living proximity to Human habitations, easily
available prey deer to fish
 Snow leopard – grayish white fur of the snow
leopard imprinted with large and light rosette
patterns helps camouflage the animal in rocky
mountains. Prey – Mostly Mountain goat

10. Dietary Preference
 Depends on their own size, strength and kind of
habitat they live in.
 Largest of cats Tigers and lions hunt large
herbivores –wild bovids ,antelope, large deer,
calves of rhino or elephant
 Leopards go for medium sized herbivores-small
deer species,antelopes,wild sheep,goat or the
wild boar
 Small cats feed on small mammals –Mice, hare,
rats and birds.

11. Learning to survive
 Cubs – 6 months old are completely weaned and
can roam around freely
 Cubs – 10 months old can start hunting along
with their mother
 Cubs - 2 yrs old become independent enough to
go their own way
 When male cubs reach maturity, each male
moves away to form its own pride while female
remains in the same pride alongside their
mothers.

12. Cat whiskers

13. Cat whiskers
 Whiskers are coarser and thicker than regular
hairs.
 Jam packed with blood vessels and nerves
,making them more sensitive than regular hair.
 As sensitive as human fingertips
 Whiskers work as vibration sensors that measure
distances and helps in chasing prey

14. What makes the cat a cat
 Cat’s paws are very different from human nails.
 They are sharp, pointed and curved at the tips.
 Tool to catch and hold prey and tear meat from
bones

15. A Cheetah vrs A leopard vrs A Jaguar
 By the pattern of the skin : Cheetah – evenly
spread simple spot, leopard –solid spots and
rosettes, Jaguar-spots bigger rosettes with
distinct internal spots
 By their size and shape: Jaguar are heavier than
leopard with bigger head, Leopard much more
muscular than cheetah
 By their hunting preference:Cheetah fastest
running land animal with long hind legs,stride up
to 22 ft.Jaguar strongest bite of all felids and bites
directly through the skull of prey.Leopard drag
their meals into tress.

16. Threats to the survival of cats
 Tigers –Poached for skin,claws,bones,chinese
medicines
 Leopard- human wildlife conflicts
 Lion-found wild only in Gir, Habitat loss and prey
 Snow leopard-climate change leading to habitat
loss, decline in prey base
 Smaller cats-Habitat destruction and
fragmentation ,Fishing cat threatened species
with wetland vanishing