7/30/2019 Few Creatures on Earth Are as Threatened by Extinction Today as the Big Cats

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Few creatures on earth are as threatened by extinction today as the big cats--lions, tigers and

cheetahs. In fact, the past 10,000 years have witnessed the demise of no less than ten species and

subspecies of big cats, as well as one tiger-like marsupial. Here are the 10 most notable big catsthat have gone extinct in historical times.

1. American Cheetah

Wikimedia Commons

Despite its name, the American Cheetah (genus name Miracinonyx) was more closely related to

pumas and jaguars than to modern cheetahs; its slim, muscular, cheetah-like body can be chalkedup to convergent evolution (the tendency for animals that inhabit similar ecosystems to evolve

similar body plans). As fast and sleek as it was, the American Cheetah went extinct about 10,000years ago, possibly as a result of human encroachment on its territory. More about theAmericanCheetah

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2. American Lion

Wikimedia Commons

As with the American Cheetah, the big cat affiliations of the American Lion (Panthera leo atrox)

are in some doubt: thisPleistocenepredator may have been more closely related to tigers andjaguars. The amazing thing about the American Lion is that it coexisted, and competed, with

Smilodon(aka the Saber-Toothed Tiger) and Canis diris, theDire Wolf. If it was in fact a

subspecies of lion, the American Lion was by far the biggest of its breed, some males weighingas much as half a ton. More about theAmerican Lion

3. Bali Tiger

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7/30/2019 Few Creatures on Earth Are as Threatened by Extinction Today as the Big Cats

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Eric Bajart

As you might have surmised from its name, the Bali Tiger (Panthera tigris balica) was restrictedto the Indonesian island of Bali, where the last individuals went extinct a mere 50 or so years

ago. For thousands of years, the Bali Tiger coexisted uneasily with the indigenous settlers of

Indonesia; it wasn't truly imperiled until the arrival of the first Europeans, who mercilessly

hunted this tiger to extinction, sometimes for sport and sometimes to protect their territory. Moreabout theBali Tiger

4. Barbary Lion

Joseph Bassett Holder

One of the more fearsome subspecies ofPanthera leo, the Barbary Lion (Panthera leo leo) was aprized possession of medieval British lords; a few large, shaggy individuals even made their way

from northern Africa to the menagerie of the Tower of London. Barbary Lion males had

especially large manes, and they were among the biggest lions of historical times, weighing as

much as 500 pounds. It may yet prove possibly to reintroduce the Barbary Lion into the wild by

selective breeding of its scattered descendants. More about theBarbary Lion

5. Cape Lion

A.E. Brehm

The Cape Lion,Panthera leo melanochaitus, holds a tenuous position in the big cat classificationbooks; some experts believe it shouldn't count as aPanthera leo subspecies at all, and was in fact

a mere geographical offshoot of the still-extant Transvaal Lion of South Africa. Whatever the

case, the last individuals of this big-maned breed expired in the late 19th century, and aconvincing sighting hasn't been recorded since. More about theCape Lion

6. Caspian Tiger

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Public Domain

Of all the big cats that have gone extinct over the last 100 years, the Caspian Tiger (Pantheratigris virgata) occupied the largest swath of territory, ranging from Iran to the Caucasus to the

vast, windswept steppes of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. We can thank Russia, which borders

these regions, for the extinction of this majestic beast; Tsarist officials set a bounty on theCaspian Tiger during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As with the Barbary Lion, it may yet

prove possible to resuscitate the Caspian Tiger via selective breeding of its descendants. More

about theCaspian Tiger

7. Cave Lion

Heinrich Harder

Probably the most famous of all extinct big cats--if only for its close association with theCaveBear, on which it regularly lunched--the Cave Lion (Panthera leo spelaea) was the apex predatorofPleistoceneEurasia. Oddly enough, this lion probably didn't live in caves; it earned its name

because various specimens were unearthed in European caves, whichPanthera leo spelaea

raided in search of bear-sized snacks (an angry, full-grown Cave Bear would have been an evenmatch for an 800-pound Cave Lion male). More about theCave Lion

8. European Lion

Public Domain

Confusingly, what paleontologists refer to as the European Lion comprised as many as three,rather than just one, subspecies ofPanthera leo:Panthera leo europaea,Panthera leo tartarica

andPanthera leo fossilis. What all these big cats shared in common were their relatively large

sizes (some males approached 400 pounds) and their susceptibility to encroachment and captureby early Europeans: for example, European Lions featured in the arena combats of ancient

Rome. More about theEuropean Lion

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