I would not consider cougars to be small cats. I know some people classify them as such because they can't roar and those people define big cats as the ones that can roar (the five species in the genus Panthera). I personally find this an absurd definition. To me a big cat is one that is big and a small cat is one that is small!
Not quite accurate; the people who classify cougars as small cats mostly base it on phylogenetics rather than a mere roar/roarless dichotomy for similar reasons, the two species of Clouded Leopard are classified as big cats even though they a) cannot roar and b) are in Neofelis. In any case, Panthera uncia cannot roar either and no one claims that isn't a big cat. No more absurd than saying one member of a genus (Puma) is a big cat and the other is a small cat, as you seem to
According to Wikipedia: Big cat - Wikipedia "The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus Panthera, namely tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. Except the snow leopard, these species are able to roar. A more liberal and expansive definition of the term includes species outside of Panthera including the cougar, clouded leopard, Sunda clouded leopard and cheetah, although these added species also do not roar." Others, such as this source list them as a small cat: Small Cats - The Wildcat Sanctuary Personally, I'd regard Puma as a big cat (based on their size) along with tigers, lions, jaguars, leopards, snow leopards, cheetahs; and say members of the lynx and golden cat families are among the largest of the small cats.
As a wild cat fanatic, my answer is there are not enough small cat exhibits to begin with and nowhere near enough good ones. That being said, here are some I remember off the top of my head that are nice. bobcat: Northwest Trek, Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Living Desert State Park Canadian lynx: Northwest Trek caracal: Oregon Zoo, The Living Desert Zoo, Great Cats World Park Pallas' cat: Hogle Zoo (though they were temporarily indoors on my visit) fishing cat: San Diego Zoo, National Zoo (based on photos), Memphis Zoo ocelot: Memphis Zoo, North Carolina Zoo (based on photos), Santa Ana Zoo? (not sure on this) serval: Great Cats World Park, Out Of Africa, Memphis Zoo
Yeah, about the caracals in Oregon... they have lemurs in the exhibit now! Because... lemurs are TOTALLY a predator from the Serengeti! All sarcasm aside, their female, Peggy, did have a skin condition. Plus, apparently the exhibit wasn't large enough. Even though (based off of pictures) it did seem relatively large and downright innovative with the dwarf mongoose tunnel. Although *maybe* if they had different founders as well as an opportunity to bask in the Oregon sun on the roof of the building, restrained only by mesh, rather than being surrounded by walls and mock rock...
That is a shame about Oregon Zoo caracals, because it was the most aesthetically pleasing caracal exhibit I have seen. Maybe even the most pleasing of any small cat exhibit. However, the entire time I was there I did not see one single caracal (despite multiple tries throughout the day). Lemurs are a terrible replacement. I wonder if servals would work?
And let's not forget that this exhibit is within a zone called Predators of the Serengeti. Last I checked, lemurs a) aren't predators and b) don't inhabit the African Serengeti.
For sure lemurs are not found naturally in the Serengeti, but at least they can be counted as potential predators https://previews.agefotostock.com/p...b8082b48f6d25771e8e91e310b334/yp6-1720353.jpg https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640x360/p02cl4lc.jpg
True, plus if I recall correctly from my trip last August, one of the smaller exhibits in the area held a Brazilian porcupine (I presume the exhibit that use to hold the African rock python), so I guess that area had already strayed away from its name
...except Cheetahs and Cougars are nestled firmly within the subfamily Felinae, which makes them small cats regardless of their size. Panthera and Neofelis comprise Pantherinae, the big cats. I think the English names are simply due to the fact that most Felinae members are small and most Pantherinae members are large, even though some Felinae are larger than some Pantherinae. Roaring has nothing to do with it. It also makes no sense to classify Cougar as a big cat while simultaneously classifying Jaguarundi as a small cat. And to add to the thread, while maybe not amazing, I've always liked Beardsley Zoo's Ocelot enclosure. ~Thylo
I dont see why not it's not just a barred cage the black footed cat the fishing cat and the clouded leopard have a naturalistic design I also forgot the caracal to has a smallest design
I personally refer to panthera as big cats, most everything else as small cats, and puma, cheetah, and clouded leopard as medium or mixed up cats Omaha has great exhibits for their small cats, though good luck spotting the ocelot. I liked Oregon's bobcat exhibit. Wildlife Safari has ones that aren't exciting from a viewer's perspective, but are great for their puma and bobcat. I like Maryland's bobcat exhibit, as well.
