Animals You Never Knew Were In The Cat Family

#Discoveries

The creations of God are beyond unique and distinct if I might add.  Like a saying in one of my favourite movies of all time ''One King With The King'' says, ''It takes the glory of God to conceal a matter and the honour of Kings to sort it out''. What we are about to see and learn today vividly explains this saying perfectly. God has created many animals that we as animals do not even know. Since we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation (I Peter 2:9)  we will sort out one by one the things God has concealed in His glory. You can search this blog with the hashtag #Discoveries and be prepared to be amazed and also inspired by the beautiful and amazing creations of God. 

Before I continue, I would know to say that this article or post is pretty long but I know will be inspired as I have. So, please kindly get a cup of coffee/tea, sit back and be inspired. We all know a few of the animals that belong in the cat family. But today, we will try and discuss them with pictures. 

The Cat Family

According to Wikipedia Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid, or cat. The most familiar felid is the domestic cat, which first became associated with humans about 10,000 years ago, but the family includes all other wild cats, including the big cats.

Extant felids belong to one of two subfamilies: Pantherinae (which includes the tiger, the lion, the jaguar, and the leopard), and Felinae (which includes the cougar, the cheetah, the lynxes, the ocelot, and the domestic cat).

Now let's get to know the animals that consist of the cat family, we will start according to how Wikipedia has arranged their names, ok?

Pantherinae consist of :

                                                                     Tiger

''The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to 3.38 m (11.1 ft) over curves and weighing up to 388.7 kg (857 lb) in the wild. Its most recognisable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with a lighter underside. Tigers are apex predators, primarily preying on ungulates such as deer and bovids. They are territorial and generally solitary but social animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey requirements. Tigers once ranged widely across Asia, from Turkey in the west to the eastern coast of Russia. Over the past 100 years, they have lost 93% of their historic range, and have been extirpated from southwest and central Asia, from the islands of Java and Bali, and from large areas ofSoutheast and Eastern Asia. Today, they range from the Siberian taiga to open grasslands and tropical mangrove swamps'' (Wikipedia) . 

                                                                                Lion

''The lion (Panthera leo) is one of the five big cats in the genus Panthera and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight,^[4] it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in sub-Saharan Africaand in Asia (where an endangered remnant population resides in Gir Forest National Park in India) while other types of lions have disappeared from North Africa and Southwest Asia in historic times. Lions live for 10–14 years in the wild, while in captivity they can live longer than 20 years'' (Wikipedia). 

                                                                            Jaguar 

''This spotted cat most closely resembles the leopard physically, although it is usually larger and of sturdier build and its behavioral and habitatcharacteristics are closer to those of the tiger. While dense rainforest is its preferred habitat, the jaguar will range across a variety of forested and open terrains. It is strongly associated with the presence of water and is notable, along with the tiger, as a feline that enjoys swimming. The jaguar is largely a solitary, opportunistic, stalk-and-ambush predator at the top of the food chain (an apex predator). It is a keystone species, playing an important role in stabilizing ecosystems and regulating the populations of the animals it hunts'' (Wikipedia).

                                                                              Leopard

''Compared to other members of the Felidae, the leopard has relatively short legs and a long body with a large skull. It is similar in appearance to the jaguar, but is smaller and more slightly built. Its fur is marked with rosettes similar to those of the jaguar, but the leopard's rosettes are smaller and more densely packed, and do not usually have central spots as the jaguars do. Both leopards and jaguars that are melanistic are known as black panthers'' (Wikipedia). 

P.S- Here are posts on Wearing Leopard Prints Effortlessly- Part A Men >>> chidinmainspirations.blogspot.com/2014/05/wearing-leopard-prints-effortlessly.html?spref=tw … Part B (Women) >>> chidinmainspirations.blogspot.com/2014/06/wearing-leopard-prints-effortlessly.html?spref=tw …  in case you missed it.  

Felinae 

                                                                          Cougar

''The cougar also known as the mountain lion, puma, panther, painter, mountain cat or catamount, is a large cat of the family Felidae native to the Americas. Its range, from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes of South America, is the greatest of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. An adaptable, generalist species, the cougar is found in most American habitattypes. It is the second heaviest cat in the New World, after the jaguar. Secretive and largely solitary by nature, the cougar is properly considered both nocturnal and crepuscular, although sightings during daylight hours do occur. The cougar is more closely related to smaller felines, including the domestic cat (subfamily Felinae), than to any subspecies of lion (subfamily Pantherinae)'' (Wikipedia). 

                                                                          Cheetah 

''The fastest land animal in the world, the cheetah is a marvel of evolution. The cheetah's slender, long-legged body is built for speed. Cheetahs are tan in color with black spots all over their bodies. They can also be distinguished from other big cats by their smaller size, spotted coats, small heads and ears and distinctive "tear stripes" that stretch from the corner of the eye to the side of the nose'' (defenders.org).

Lynx

''The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a medium-sized cat characterized by its long ear tufts, flared facial ruff, and short, bobbed tail with a completely black tip. It has unusually large paws that act like snowshoes in very deep snow, thick fur and long legs, and its hind legs are longer than its front legs, giving lynx a stooped appearance'' (defenders.org). 

Ocelot 

''The ocelot, also known as the dwarf leopard, is a wild cat distributed extensively over South Americaincluding the islands of Trinidad and Margarita, Central America, and Mexico. It has been reported as far north as Texas. North of Mexico, it is found regularly only in the extreme southern part of Texas,  although there are rare sightings in southern Arizona. The ocelot is similar in appearance to a domestic cat. Its fur resembles that of a clouded leopard or jaguar'' (Wikipedia). 

                                                           Domestic Cat

And last but the least, domestic cats. These are the cats that are found in most homes which are commonly used as pets. 

WHAT AN AMAZING GOD WE SERVE!!!

I hope you have been inspired? I sure have. Please kindly share this post with others to inspire them as well.

I do love to hear from you, so please do feel free to share your thoughts, suggestions or contributions with me by commenting below. I humbly await your response.

Be Inspired To Love And Appreciste The Beauty In God's Creations.

Yours Truly,

Chidinma

Article Credit-

Wikipedia

defenders.org

Photo Credit-

tigerday.org

www.animallearningzone.com

www.smithsonianmag.com

wall.alphacoders.com

www.onekind.org

www.animalcorner.co.uk

freehdw.com

www.wallconvert.com

en.wikipedia.org

insinuated.wordpress.com

community.usvsth3m.com