Animal Guides / Big cats and predators
Big cats and predators
Lions, tigers, cheetahs, snow leopards, wolves and polar bears, the hunters at the top of their food webs.
Top predators shape entire ecosystems. By hunting grazers they change where plants grow, which animals thrive and even how rivers flow. These fact files explain how each hunter lives, what it eats and why so many of them need protection.
PredatorCheetahThe fastest land animal, built like a greyhound and able to sprint over 90 km/h in short bursts. Here is how its body works and why it is in trouble.
PredatorGray wolfThe wild ancestor-cousin of every pet dog, a family-living hunter of the Northern Hemisphere. Here is how wolf packs really work and why wolves matter to ecosystems.
PredatorLionThe only truly social big cat, living in family prides on the African savanna. Here is how lions hunt, raise cubs and why their numbers have fallen.
PredatorPolar bearThe largest land carnivore, a marine mammal that hunts seals from Arctic sea ice. Learn how polar bears stay warm, how they hunt and why sea ice decides their future.
PredatorSnow leopardThe ghost of the mountains, a smoky gray cat that lives high in the ranges of Central and South Asia. Here is how it survives cold, thin air and steep cliffs.
PredatorTigerThe largest living cat, a solitary striped hunter of Asian forests and grasslands. Learn where tigers live, how they hunt and how protection is helping some populations recover.