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Although
I am first and foremost a birdwatcher, I have always been fascinated and
impressed by the great cats, and particularly the "Big Five": Tiger, Lion,
Leopard, Cheetah, and Jaguar. Indeed, seeing a Tiger was my number 1 goal
in the mammal world, and our experiences were breath-taking. I have been
within the range of Jaguar Panthera onca on a half-dozen Neotropical
trips. I have seen fresh footprint (right), heard a male roaring at night
and had it respond to a local resident who imitated calls on a special
gourd, found fresh scat, and have touched a still warm female that had
just been hit and killed by a car in Venezuela. But I have still not laid
my eyes on a wild Jaguar. I hope that thrill is still to come.
Depending on your taxonomy there are 32-35 species of wild cats. The other species that might be considered "Great Cats" are:
PHOTOS: All photos on this page are © 2001 Don Roberson; all rights reserved. The Tiger was in Ranthambhore Nat'l Park, Rajasthan, India, on 23 Mar 2001. The Leopard and Lion were in Masai Mara Nat'l Park, Kenya, in Nov 1981. The Cheetah was in Kruger Nat'l Park, South Africa, in July 1996. The Jaguar footprint was in the Pantanal of Brazil in Aug 1999.