Big Cats’!
Diet: Jaguars are top-level carnivores and are known to eat almost any meat.
Habitat: Jaguars make their homes in a wide-variety of habitats including deciduous
forests, rainforests, swamps, pampas grasslands and mountain scrub areas.
Appearance: Largest cat in the Americas, has a compact body, a broad head and
powerful jaws. Coat is normally yellow and tan, but the colour can vary from reddish
brown to black. Black spots make larger rosette shapes as they go down the body.
Behaviour: Jaguars are solitary animals and live and hunt alone – with the exception of
mating season. The jaguar hunts mostly on the ground, but it sometimes climbs a tree
and pounces on its prey from above. It has very powerful jaws and sharp teeth and
usually kills its prey with one crushing bite to the skull. Unlike most big cats, the jaguar
loves the water — it often swims, bathes, plays and even hunts for fish in streams and
The Jaguar pools. The jaguar’s roar sounds like a deep, chesty cough.
Diet: A cheetah’s main diet is gazelles, wildebeest calves, impalas and smaller hoofed
animals.
Diet: Generally,
Habitat: Cheetahscougars prey on
are found deerinbut
mostly drymay
openalso prey on smaller livestock to – they
grasslands.
have been known to eat insects.
Appearance: Cheetah's have slender, long-legged bodies built for speed. They are tan
Habitat:
colouredThey
withmake
blacktheir
spotshomes where
all over their ever they
bodies. Theycancan
findalso
shelter and prey. from
be distinguished
other big cats by their smaller size, spotted coats, small
Appearance: Cougars have slender bodies with round heads and pointed heads and ears and distinctive
ears. Their
"tear stripes" that stretch from the corner of the eye to the side of the
length – from head to tail – varies between 1.5-2.7m. A cougar’s coat varies between a nose.
greyish tan to
Behaviour: a reddishare
Cheetahs colour with lighter
the fastest parts on
land animal in its
theunder-side
world! They andarea black spot
diurnal at
cats,
the
whoend of their
hunt mostlytails.
in early evening or late morning. There chases last 20-60 seconds but
The Cheetah only half ofCannot
Behaviour: them are roarsuccessful.
but purrsThey
like anock
housetheir
cat.prey
When to hunting,
the ground then kill
cougars staywith a
hidden
The Cougar until they can pounce with outstretched paws. Cougars can also climb with ease and to
suffocating bite to the neck. They are solitary animals and the females are often left
careover
leap for the
6m.young by themselves.
Cougars, for the mostCheetahs
part, arecan NOTanimals.
solitary roar!
Diet: Lions eat many large mammals.
Habitat: A lion’s territory consists of scrub, grassland or open woodland.
Appearance: Lions vary in colour but mainly have yellow-brown coats – mature male
lions also have thick black or brown manes which encircle their heads to protect them
while fighting. Lions are highly majestic and strong animals.
Behaviour: As the only social member of the cat family, lions live in large groups called
prides (adult male lions are the leaders their pride). While the males rest and enjoy the
company of the members of his pride, the females hunt. They work in teams to stalk
and ambush their prey. Both lion and lioness’ roars can be heard from over 5 miles
The Lion away!
Diet: Bobcats mainly hunt rabbits and hares. They are also known to eat rodents and
birds as well as larger creatures like deer and lamb.
Habitat: Bobcats live in a range of places, such as: forests, swamps and deserts.
Appearance: Medium sized, with a coat varying in colour from beige to brown fur with
spotted or lined markings in dark brown or black.
Behaviour: A bobcat has several dens in its territory. They are solitary animals but often
territories overlap. Bobcats kill with a leap and a deathblow.
The Bobcat
Conclusion
I think Jaguars are the greatest predator because they can adapt to the situation they are in - like climb a tree –
and they have incredibly sharp teeth and strong jaws which could finish prey of in a matter of seconds. They must
be good hunters to eat the enormous meals they sometimes hunt. They are also pretty camouflage in forest.
Cheetahs would be the next best predator.
