Big Cats, Small Cats, and Felines with "Cattitude" Quiz

Answer: Lion

Most people are aware that the male and female lion look different because the male lion typically possesses a large mane of fur around the head and neck, whereas the female does not. What is less well known is that not all male lions have a mane. Lions in the Tsavo region of Kenya, for example, are often maneless. A definitive reason for this is not known, but scientific research suggests that climate (temperature) and hormones (testosterone levels) are the main influencing factors.

The lion is the officially designated national animal for Iran, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Togo and the U.K. A number of countries and territories also feature lions on their flags -- including Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Jersey, Montenegro, Spain, and Sri Lanka.

Answer: Tiger

Tigers are recognisable by their vertical stripes and distinctive orange-brown and black colouring. However, there variations in colour, the most familiar being white tigers, which typically have white fur with dark brown stripes. White tigers are a result of a genetic mutation. They are not albino and usually have blue eyes. White tigers are very rare in the wild and are predominantly found in captivity.

The tiger is the national animal of Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and South Korea.

Answer: Cheetah

The name cheetah comes from a Sanskrit word meaning "speckled", a reference to its spots, which provide highly effective camouflage in the wild. Cheetah cubs sport a long mane of greyish-beige fur down their backs, called a mantle, which helps hide the cubs from predators as it helps them blend into their grassy environment. This mantle is absent in the adults.

Cheetahs are found in Africa and central Iran and they are one of three national animals for Iran. Iran's national animals are all members of the cat family. As well as the cheetah, they include the Asiatic lion and a subspecies of leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) native to Iran and some of the countries surrounding it.

Answer: Jaguar

Jaguars and leopards are similar in appearance but there are a number of distinctive differences. One of the most obvious differences is in the nature of their spots. Both have coats which are usually yellowish to a dark tawny colour with black spots called rosettes. Leopard spots tend to be solid in colour and circular or curved in shape. However, jaguar spots tend to be larger, resembling broken circles with smaller spots inside the rosettes. Both patterns provide camouflage in the dappled light of their forest habitats.

Jaguars can also appear solid black in colour - they are usually referred to as black panthers. Panthera is a genus within the cat family which includes lions, tiger, leopards and jaguars. The word panther is usually used to refer to leopards and jaguars. However, in the U.S.A., it is also used to refer to pumas or cougars, but biologically speaking, they are not panthers because they belong to the genus Puma, not Panthera.

The jaguar is found only in the Americas, predominantly South America. It is the national animal for Guyana and is featured on their coat of arms.

Answer: Snow leopard

Snow leopards, as the name implies, live in snowy habitats. They are well-adapted to this environment with long fur for insulation and wide paws for walking on snow. Despite being referred to as "leopards", they are more closely related to the tiger than the leopard. They are the smallest of the "big cats". The term "big cat" specifically refers to the members of the genus Panthera, namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. It does not include the cheetah or cougar, although they are sometimes referred to informally as big cats.

Snow leopards are only found in 12 countries in Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia and Tibet. Like many members of the cat family, they are an endangered species. The snow leopard is the national animal for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Answer: Angora cat

Ankara, the capital of Turkey, was historically known as Angora. It lent its name to Angora goats (and their silk-like wool, also known as mohair) and Angora cats (whose fur is similar).

Angora cats are typically white with long silky fur and thick fluffy tails, although they do come in other colours. They are often deaf and sometimes have eyes which are different colours (a genetic condition called heterochromia).

The Angora cat is the national animal of Turkey, which is the only country that has a domestic cat as its national animal.

Answer: Ocelot

Ocelots have spots or rosettes which form a distinctive chain-like pattern running horizontally across the length of their body. They also have stripes on their cheeks and a stripe running from the top of each eye over the head.

They got their name from the Aztec word "tlalocelotl" which means "field tiger". They look like small leopards and are about twice the size of a domestic cat.

Found in the Americas and the Caribbean, the ocelot is one of Mexico's national animals.

Answer: Lynx

There are four different species of lynx. These include the Eurasian or Siberian lynx, the Canadian lynx, the Spanish or Iberian lynx, and the red lynx (bobcat). The bobcat, which is native to the North American continent, is so-called because of its short or bobbed tail. The caracal is not a lynx, although it is sometimes referred to as the Persian lynx or African lynx. The caracal and the lynx belong to different genuses.

They are excellent hunters and have keen senses of hearing and vision. The black fur on the tips of its ears assists the lynx to hear.

The Eurasian lynx is the national animal of Romania.

Answer: Leopard

The name leopard is derived from the Greek words "leon" (lion) and "pardos" (male panther) because in ancient times, it was thought to be a hybrid of the two animals. Like some other wild cats, they have spots called rosettes. However, a few appear to be black. On close examination, however, they are just extremely dark and they do still have spots.

Typically leopards have white spots on the backs of their ears and at the tip of their tail. It is believed that this aids the cubs to follow their mother through the tall grass.

The leopard is the national animal of Somalia and appears on its coat of arms. It is also one of the national animals of Iran.

Answer: Barbary lion

Lions belong to the species Panthera leo. The Barbary lion is a subspecies of lion (Panthera leo leo). It is also known by a variety of other names -- the Atlas lion, Berber lion, Egyptian lion, Nubian lion and North African lion. It is significantly bigger in size than other types of lion (approximately 50% bigger than the African lion) and typically has a longer, thicker and darker mane.

The last sighting of a Barbary lion was in Morocco in 1920. The Barbary lion is Morocco's national animal and is the nickname of their national (FIFA) football team, the Atlas Lions.