Felidae, generally known as "cats," is a family of mammals containing 40 species. Basically, it can be divided into two categories: felines (Felinae) and panthers (Pantherinae). "Big cats" refers to the five species in genus Panthera: tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. Three of them live in China, all under first class national protection. 

Check the video below to see who they are: 

When talking about Chinese tigers, it mainly refers to the subspecies of the Siberian tiger. According to the latest statistic released by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, there are 37 adult tigers and cubs in northeastern China. The good news is, as China's environment improves, the tiger population grows. 

China has the highest number of subspecies of leopards in the world. Four of nine leopard subspecies live in the country. Among them, the Amur leopard habitat overlaps with the Siberian tigers. China has establish the Northeastern China Tiger and Leopard National Park to provide best protection for the big cats.  

Residing on high mountains in western China, the snow leopard is one of the most mysterious animals. According to data given by IUCN, the snow leopard has a small population of less than 3,400 individuals. This number is only slightly higher than the tiger's. 

There is another member in the "panther family," the clouded leopard. It is not considered a "big cat" because it is too small: weighing 23 kilograms at most, only one tenth of the tiger. But in terms of taxonomy, the clouded leopard is the "younger brother" of all of those big cats. China has 12 of the 40 felidae species worldwide. 

(Cover image via VCG) 

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