1. Jaguars like to fish.
Unlike your typical house cat, jaguars love the water. They are the most aquatic of all the big cats and are at home in rivers, where they hunt and play. Jaguars catch fish, and also prey on turtles, caimans, and frogs. Even when hunting land animals, jaguars typically travel up and down streams, so they are never far from a waterway.
2. Tigers have whiskers all over their bodies.
Tigers have whiskers in five places – around their noses, on their cheeks, above their eyes, behind their front legs, and scattered throughout their fur. These whiskers detect sensory information, helping tigers to navigate in the dark and attack their prey more accurately. Tigers can see well at night – six times better than we feeble humans – but because their pupils dilated in the dark, it’s more difficult for them to see objects close up. The whiskers on a tiger’s muzzle can help compensate for this, enabling it to feel its way through the dark.
3. Leopards hunt from trees.
You’ve probably seen the photos of leopards lounging in trees, dangling languid paws and tails from the branches. Leopards do more than just sleep in trees though – they use the elevation for hunting. Their spots help them blend in with the foliage until they’re ready to ambush an unlucky animal, killing their prey with one deadly pounce.
4. Cheetahs can’t roar – but they can purr.
The strict definition of “big cat” only refers to the members of the Panthera genus – lions, tigers, jaguars, and leopards – all of which have the ability to roar. The cheetah is only included in the broader definition of the term and can’t roar, but as the only big cat that can purr, it seems the most like … well, a big cat! Cheetahs’ purrs sound much like your regular moggy’s rumbles, but due to their larger size cheetahs purr so vigorously the hairs on their chests vibrate. Instead of a roar, cheetahs make an almost birdlike chirping sound, which can be heard more than a mile away.
5. The lion is the only big cat with a tasseled tail.
Male lions are distinct for their great shaggy necks, but both male and females stand out from other cats thanks to the tassel on the end of their tail. The bushy black tail tip grows in when cubs reach about seven months old. This evolutionary quirk has many uses. Lions use their tassels to lead each other through long savannah grass, to give cubs a “come here” signal, or to communicate with each other when they are hunting in groups.
