Meet the rare and gorgeous felines of 'super Cats' (photographs)

Black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) hunt amongst the brief desolate tract scrub within the Karoo of South Africa. they're Africa's smallest cat, and the deadliest of the complete cat household — with a 60 percent looking success cost. anything that moves is a possible meal, from locusts to birds to gerbils.

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credit: Paul Williams/Copyright BBC

A swamp tiger (Panthera tigris) bathes in seawater within the Sundarbans of India. These unexplored muddy mangroves are domestic to round 100 of these legendary big cats, but only at low tide may one emerge from the depths of the forest to patrol the seaside round his island territory.

Fishing cat

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A fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) and kitten, hunt for fish in Bangladesh. they're perfect to a existence in the monsoon wetlands. underneath a protracted outer coat they have a short layer of insulating fur that acts like a wetsuit — and that they have in part webbed ft.

Jaguar

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A jaguar (Panthera onca), crucial the united states. Jaguars are the greatest cat within the Americas. for their size, they have the strongest chunk of any cat. On the coast of Costa Rica, they depart the jungle to hunt turtles on the seashore.

Pallas's cat

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Pallas's cats (Otocolobus manul) thrive in the far off grasslands of the Mongolian steppe. they're completely adapted to disguise during this open landscape, as they have got a large head and low ears, and can flatten their our bodies to seem like a rock when looking.

desert lions

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wasteland lions (Panthera leo) are living in small isolated prides and roam huge territories, relying on shared abilities to discover food in the harsh Namib wasteland. These three cubs were orphaned at barely a yr ancient. They continue to exist in opposition t the percentages because the wasteland's youngest and most inexperienced delight.

Jaguar

A jaguar (Panthera onca) in Costa Rica, considered in an image from a thermal camera, has realized to hunt turtles on a pacific seashore. for their size, they have got the strongest jaws of any cat — powerful enough to damage right into a turtle's shell to feed on the wealthy source of food.

wonderful viewpoint

credit: Stuart Dunn/Copyright BBC

Conservationist Kevin Richardson has immersed himself in a delight of lions (Panthera leo), discovering a different standpoint on their behavior.

Tech to the rescue

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with a view to study the sprinting abilities of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), Professor Alan Wilson developed his own aircraft from scratch just to keep up with the world's fastest land animals.

Mountain lion cub

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A younger mountain lion cub (Puma concolor) is outfitted with a GPS collar so scientists can follow her formative years. Over time her unbelievable blue eyes will darken.

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Dr. Natalia Borrego works with so-called lion whisperer Kevin Richardson to carry out IQ exams. She believes that they are smartest of all the cats.

city leopard cub

An urban leopard cub (Panthera pardus) drinks from a yard pond. one of the crucial biggest cities on earth, Mumbai is additionally domestic to the densest population of leopards.

Tigers

Tigers (Panthera tigris) are the greatest of all the cats — from the enormous Siberian tigers that roam the frozen boreal forest of Russia, to the secretive swamp tigers of the Indian Sundarbans that bathe in seawater and patrol muddy shores. in the early twentieth century, 100,000 tigers reigned throughout Asia and Europe, however today there are fewer than 4,000 within the wild.

Snow leopard

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A snow leopard (Panthera uncia), Indian Himalayas. The "Ghost of the Himalaya" is the area's optimum residing and most lonesome cat. They reside in big territories, where food is scarce and discovering a mate is even tougher.

Cheetah

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Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), Namibia. Cheetahs aren't simply the fastest cats but the fastest animals on land, too. The latest research is beginning to exhibit that it is their incredible manoeuvrability that basically gives them the killer part.

Leopard

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Leopard (Panthera pardus), Namibia. Leopards thrive in additional environments than every other wild cat however that doesn't suggest lifestyles is effortless. Leopard mothers need to leave their susceptible young cubs in the event that they are to hunt correctly.

Rusty spotted cat

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Rusty spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus), Sri Lanka. This miniature predator is the area's smallest cat, so small that they are chuffed dining on bugs.

Pumas

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Pumas (Puma concolor) are the widest-ranging mammal in the Americas, due to outstanding adaptability and an eye for possibility. They even stalk the impossible of prey: penguins.

Puma cubs

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Puma cubs (Puma concolor). Puma, mountain lion, cougar: these are all names for the same cat. really, they hold the Guinness World checklist for more names than other animal, in all probability because of their dazzling latitude, from the North to the South of the Americas.

Margay

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Margay (Leopardus wiedii), important america. Margay are the tree-mountain climbing consultants of the cat world. they will on no account get caught in a tree; their ankles can rotate a hundred and eighty degrees, allowing them to walk down vertically.

Jaguar

credit: Paul Williams/Copyright BBC

Jaguar (Panthera onca), South/critical the usa. Jaguars are the greatest cat within the Americas and have a bite to fit. for their measurement, it's the strongest of any cat, enabling them to dispatch huge prey comparable to caiman crocodiles.