History Analysis / PantheraAwesome

They're one of the few cats still known to [[ToServeMan eat people]], and, as such, in India, people living in the jungles will wear masks on the backs of their head to prevent tigers from sneaking up on them (yet man-eaters are known among lions and leopards as well); in fact, they are the only predator to kill more humans per year than vice versa. Mostly comes in color orange, while other variants are much rarer but confirmed: mainly the famous white, and then "golden tabby", blue, and black colored tigers. White tigers are somewhat common in captivity and almost unseen in the wild; some of this is probably due to the need for camouflage in the wild. The white color is a recessive trait, however, and thus captive white tigers tend to be very inbred, often suffering from eye problems, hip dysplasia, and cleft palates. "Black" tigers are extremely rare and their bloodlines may be extinct. Given the lack of any captive examples, it's unknown whether they are truly melanistic or if they simply have abnormally wide stripes that leave little room for orange fur between them. Many countries consider the tiger to be the KingOfBeasts instead of the lion (which makes sense in regions where the lion has never been a native animal, like East Asia), or even a god, symbolizing wrath, war, military generals or kings. Based on a survey of 73 countries, Tigers were also voted to be "The World's Favorite Animal", narrowly beating "[[CanineCompanion man's best friend]]".

'''Snow leopards:'''[[note]]''Panthera uncia''[[/note]] The only big cat that can't roar. They live in the high mountains of Central and East Asia, including Tibet, the Pamir, the Tian Shan, and the Altai. Snow leopards are notable for their grayish fur and extremely long, bushy tail (which are almost as long as their bodies), which acts like an extra layer of fur when they curl up to sleep. Given their shy disposition and making their home in the highest mountains in the world, they are rarely seen in the wild, and are the only one of the 'big cats' that's never been confirmed to have attacked a human. Despite its name, snow leopards are more closely related to tigers rather than true leopards. Snow leopards are rather rare to see in media, and if they do, they might just roar.

They're one of the few cats still known to [[ImAHumanitarian eat people]], and, as such, in India, people living in the jungles will wear masks on the backs of their head to prevent tigers from sneaking up on them (yet man-eaters are known among lions and leopards as well); in fact, they are the only predator to kill more humans per year than vice versa. Mostly comes in color orange, while other variants are much rarer but confirmed: mainly the famous white, and then "golden tabby", blue, and black colored tigers. White tigers are somewhat common in captivity and almost unseen in the wild; some of this is probably due to the need for camouflage in the wild. The white color is a recessive trait, however, and thus captive white tigers tend to be very inbred, often suffering from eye problems, hip dysplasia, and cleft palates. "Black" tigers are extremely rare and their bloodlines may be extinct. Given the lack of any captive examples, it's unknown whether they are truly melanistic or if they simply have abnormally wide stripes that leave little room for orange fur between them. Many countries consider the tiger to be the KingOfBeasts instead of the lion (which makes sense in regions where the lion has never been a native animal, like East Asia), or even a god, symbolizing wrath, war, military generals or kings. Based on a survey of 73 countries, Tigers were also voted to be "The World's Favorite Animal", narrowly beating "[[CanineCompanion man's best friend]]".

'''Jaguars:'''[[note]]''Panthera onca''[[/note]] It seems like a bigger leopard, but is more similar to a tiger in ecology and behaviour. The largest cat in the Americas, found from Mexico through northern Argentina - though as recently as the 19th century they were found as far north as Nebraska (a family of jaguars lived in the Tehachapi Mountains of southern California during the Civil War era) and as far south as Patagonia. If a writer is trying to accurately write about UsefulNotes/TheAmazonRainforest, this is the cat they'll use. The {{Mayincatec}} worshipped jaguars, and to this day they're held in esteem SouthOfTheBorder. More often than not, however, when you hear the word jaguar, they're talking about the car company. As an added note, Jaguars have the strongest bite of all felids and kills not through the neck like other big cats do, but through the bones of the skull with its canine teeth, piercing the brain. After the jaguar has killed its prey, it drags the dead carcass to a secluded area and always feasts on the chest area first, beginning with the lungs and heart. This brutal behavior has aptly earned them a place among Mesoamerican cultures as symbols of power, war, and protection. Amongst the Aztecs, they were used as AnimalMotifs among the ocēlōtl, or Jaguar warriors, whose goal was to capture alive enemy soldiers to sacrifice to their gods.

'''Mountain lions:'''[[note]]''Puma concolor''[[/note]] [[IHaveManyNames Also called cougars, pumas, panthers, catamounts, painters, and about forty other names (and that's just in English)]]. Very technically "panther" only refers to black panther type (melanistic) mountain lions, which have never been observed outside of stories, and many biologists doubt they actually exist.[[/note]]If you see a black panther in the Western Hemisphere, it's likely a melanistic jaguar, which certainly ''does'' exist.[[/note]] Ranges across the Americas from the Yukon to Tierra del Fuego and, thus, most likely to be used in an American setting. [[TrappedByMountainLions May be used as a source of non-sequitur subplots]]. They're not actually big cats in the biological sense; they're part of the ''Felinae'' subfamily, which means they are technically small cats more closely related to domestic cats, lynxes, and caracals. That said, they're almost as big as a jaguar, so the reason for confusion is obvious. As they are technically small cats, they don't roar but rather purr and meow. The cougars' closest relatives are the jaguarundi, an also Americas feline species who live in Mexico southward, followed by the cheetahs.

'''Mountain lions:'''[[note]]''Puma concolor''[[/note]] [[IHaveManyNames Also called cougars, pumas, panthers, catamounts, painters, and about forty other names (and that's just in English)]]. Very technically panther and puma both only refer to black panther type (melanistic) mountain lions, which have never been observed outside of stories, and many biologists doubt they actually exist. Ranges across the Americas from the Yukon to Tierra del Fuego and, thus, most likely to be used in an American setting. [[TrappedByMountainLions May be used as a source of non-sequitur subplots]]. They're not actually big cats in the biological sense; they're part of the ''Felinae'' subfamily, which means they are technically small cats more closely related to domestic cats, lynxes, and caracals. That said, they're almost as big as a jaguar, so the reason for confusion is obvious. As they are technically small cats, they don't roar but rather purr and meow. The cougars' closest relatives are the jaguarundi, an also Americas feline species who live in Mexico southward, followed by the cheetahs.