Types of Cats: Family Felidae

Wild Cats Types of Animals Bobcat Cheetah Jaguar Lion Lynx Margay Mountain Lion Ocelot Snow Leopard Types of Tigers

There are thirty six different species of wild cats in the world today.

They are a diverse family of animals that live in a variety of habitats. No wild cats are native to Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Antarctica.

Members of the family Felidae are commonly categorized as either big cats or small cats, depending on the composition of the hyroid bone, a bone that supports the tongue. Big cats have a flexible hyroid bone, enabling them to roar. Small cats have a rigid hyroid bone and can not roar.

Like other animal families, many of the wild cat species are considered endangered or critically endangered, with habitat loss and hunting accounting for a good portion of this status. Three different subspecies of tigers, for example, went extinct in the last half of the twentieth century.

The links on the right take you to pictures and descriptions of different wild cats. The Cheetah and Mountain Lion articles provides additional textual information.

Students may use a picture for a report as long as they the copyright label is included. No further permission is needed.