Felines make up a very varied group of animals, ranging from cuddly cats to fearsome lions. Some of these beings have unusual characteristics that will surely surprise you.
For all those who like animals or curious facts, in this article on our site we discuss some curiosities about felines that you can't miss.
Curiosities of the jaguar, leopard and black panther
Although we have heard this term countless times, and it has served as a name for movies and associations, the truth is that there is no species of animal called the black pantherThese elegant felines are actually melanistic leopards, that is, black leopards, and, in certain areas of America, jaguars with black hair are also called “black panthers”. Thus, this is one of the most remarkable and surprising curiosities about felines due to the popular belief that the black panther constitutes a species in itself.
By the way, jaguars and leopards are two very similar animals, although the jaguar is more robust and lives in America, while the leopard is African. They are also distinguished by the pattern of their spots. By the way, the jaguar's bite is so strong that it can crack the skulls of its prey.
In another order of things, it should be explained that, technically, the term Panthera is used to designate a genus, that is, a group of large felines with the ability to roar, which It includes lions and tigers, as well as leopards and jaguars that we have already talked about. The snow leopard also belongs to this genus, but not the cougars, which we will talk about later.
Snow leopard trivia
The snow leopard, also called irbis, is a feline similar to the leopard but with lighter and longer fur. It is a really strange animal and difficult to spot, since it lives at high altitudes in the mountainous areas of the Himalayas.
In any case, he has been seen in the cinema, playing the villain of the movie Kung Fu Panda.
Curiosities of the cougar
Although as large as the leopard, puma do not belong to the genus Panthera and therefore is not able to roar , although in some series and movies we have seen him do it.
The cougar lives in mountainous areas of North and South America, and, in addition to being large, it is agile, fierce and brave.
Curiosities of the tiger, lion and their hybrids
We speak of animals of two different species when they cannot reproduce with each other, giving fertile offspring, which means that, although animals of two different species may have offspring, they will be sterile. Thus, for example, although they are very different from each other, a greyhound dog and a boxer dog could have offspring with the ability to give birth, because they are both of the canine species. In contrast, horses and donkeys can reproduce with each other, but their offspring, which are called mules, cannot have offspring. In fact, a joke that used to be played in certain rural areas on novice veterinarians was to call them to assist the delivery of the mule.
Practically everyone has seen or heard of a mule, but what not everyone knows is that lions and tigers can reproduce with each other giving hybridscalled ligers. However, in nature this is unlikely to happen, since, although centuries ago they shared part of their domains, today lions are confined to certain areas of Africa and tigers to Asia. Ligers are much larger than lions and tigers separately, and they are also sterile.
By the way, tigers are slightly larger than lions.
Cheetah trivia
The cheetah is the fastest animal on earth, being able to reach speeds of more than 100 kilometers per hour, although it cannot maintain this rhythm a long time. It is so fast that gazelles are a regular part of its diet, and we must not forget that gazelles are not exactly bad runners. The only downside is that sometimes he gets so exhausted after his runs that he is unable to defend his prey, so other animals can steal it.
Also, because their food depends on their ability to run, cheetahs generally shy away from fighting with other savanna-dwelling animals, even if they are weaker than them, to avoid an injury that leaves them without sustenance.
By the way, another of the curiosities of this feline is that it is the only one with non-retractable claws, and this characteristic improves your running traction.
Lynx curiosities
The lynx is the largest feline in Europe, since some species can weigh more than 25 kg in their adult state, little if we compare it with a tiger, which can be around 300, but a lot compared to a domestic cat.
You have to remember that the Iberian lynx lives in Spain, a species of lynx in serious danger of extinction.
