Cats
The cat family is referred to as Felidae. A member of this family is called a felid. The domestic cat (Felis catus), a well established pet in many peoples homes, is a felid.
The term "big cat" generally includes tigers, lions, jaguars, leopards, cheetahs, snow leopards, clouded leopards and cougars.
There are four big cats in the genus Panthera - these include the lion (Panthera leo), the tiger (Panthera tigris), the jaguar (Panthera onca), and the leopard (Panthera pardus).
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a member of the cat family. It is the fastest land animal and can reach speeds up to 75 mph over short distances. It's acceleration is unbelievable, a cheetah can accelerate to over 60 mph in three seconds!
The family Felinae includes the cougar (Puma concolor), the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), the lynxes, the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), and the domestic cat).
Acinonyx jubatus tanzanian cheetah Author: Gaurav Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic |
Panthera leo male lion User: wwarby Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic |
Acinonyx jubatus Cheetah Author: James Temple Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic |
Panthera leo leo barbary lion User: Lacen GNU Free Documentation License version 1.2 |
Panthera leo African Lion Author: John Storr Image in public domain |
Panthera leo persica asiatic lion User: Arpingstone image in public domain |
Panthera leo bleyenberghi southwest african lion user: Appaloosa GNU Free Documentation License version 1.2 |
 Female cheetah and cub image in public domain |
 tsavo male lion User: Mgiganteus GNU Free Documentation License version 1.2 |  Transvaal Lion User: Stano Novak Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic |
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