From the king of the jungle to the king of the mountains, these friend-shaped giants are not for petting, but boy are they cute!
Typically, the term "Big Cat" is used to refer to a specific genus of cat (with some exceptions), but there are many cats who can be called big! Here are some of them.
The lion is popularly known as the king of the jungle, but did you know they don't actually live in jungles? Lions actually prefer to live in grassy plains and savannahs, shrublands, and open woodlands. Lions have historically lived in all over Africa, Southern Europe, and Southwestern Asia, but their current population is limited to mostly sub-Saharan Africa, with a small population in western India.
The tiger is considered the largest living cat species, though there is some variation in size that causes the "average" tiger to be smaller than the average lion. However, the largest tigers are decidedly bigger than lions. The Siberian and Bengal tigers are considered to be the largest of the tiger sub-species, with females averaging 94-108 inches lnog and 220-368 pounds and males averaging 110-130 inches long and 397-675 pounds. One time when I was at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, a tiger sprayed me. It was really gross, but I still love tigers.
Wait a second, that's not a bear! That's a Pallas's cat, and we're definitely not in Kansas anymore. Actually, Pallas's cats aren't even big cats at all. They average 20 to 24 inches long and weigh between 4 and 11 pounds. They are objectively very small cats. I just included them on this page to make the Wizard of Oz joke because they look a little bear-like. Pallas's cats are deadly, just like other wild cats, but they are also adorable. When it's cold out, they will step on their tails to keep their paws warm. You should really look up a video of it. It's so cute!
Cougars, also known as mountian lions or pumas, are one of the two big cats not in the genus Panthera. They are the only remaining member of the genus Puma, which is what gives them their nickname. Cougars have no natural predators in the wild, but they will sometimes have conflicts with other predators. They are largely solitary animals. Fun fact: Cougars are native to my hometown, and there was a cougar who lived in the hills behind my high school. Despite this, our P.E. classes would still sometimes go hiking on those trails. If you ever encounter a cougar, don't play dead. They will attack you. Instead, make yourself as big as possible and shout something like the alphabet to scare it away.