The only one …

Nowadays, most scientists acknowledge forty species of wild cats.

Five of these are considered large cats (members of the genus _Panthera_): Lion, Tiger, Jaguar, Leopard, and Snow Leopard.

The two species of Clouded Leopards (found in South-east Asia) are often considered the bridge between large and small cats. However, most of the time, they are acknowledged as large cats.

All other 33 species of wild cats are considered small cats (sub-family _Felinae_). This includes Cheetahs (Genus _Acinonyx_) and Cougars (Genus _Puma_).

Looking just at body size and weight, these two species could certainly be considered large cats, but scientifically they are not.

But one thing is for sure. The only cats built for speed rather than power are Cheetahs.

With their special body design (slim body, long legs, rudder-like tail, and semi-retracted ‘spike-like’ claws) they are the fastest land mammals on earth.

I enjoy the frequent sightings of these day-active cats on Thanda Safari. I took this picture of one of our females a week ago. I love the orange eyes!

Technical data: Canon R6 with EF lens f4.0/500mm | ISO 400 | 1/500sec | f4 | ev+0.5 | 500mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 10% of the original image

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