Big cat vocabulary list
Twenty four big cat science words with short, kid friendly definitions. Print it as a word wall or a study sheet. For more detail, see our full big cat glossary.
Word list
- Adaptation
- A body part or behavior that helps an animal survive where it lives, like a cheetah's long tail for balance.
- Apex predator
- A predator at the top of its food chain with no natural predators as a healthy adult.
- Camera trap
- A camera that takes a photo when an animal moves past. Scientists use them to identify individual tigers by their stripes.
- Camouflage
- Colours or patterns that help an animal blend into its surroundings, like a tiger's stripes in tall grass.
- Coalition
- A group of male lions or cheetahs, often brothers, that live and defend territory together.
- Conservation
- Protecting wild animals and the places they live.
- Crèche
- A nursery group where several lion mothers keep their cubs together and protect them.
- Crepuscular
- Most active at dawn and dusk.
- Cub
- A young big cat.
- Endangered
- An IUCN Red List category for species at very high risk of extinction in the wild. The tiger is Endangered.
- Habitat
- The natural home of an animal, such as savanna, rainforest or high mountains.
- Home range
- The whole area an animal uses for its normal activities.
- IUCN Red List
- The global list that rates how close species are to extinction.
- Melanism
- A natural variation that makes fur very dark. Black panthers are melanistic leopards or jaguars.
- Panthera
- The group (genus) of big cats that includes the lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar and snow leopard.
- Predator
- An animal that hunts and eats other animals.
- Prey
- An animal that is hunted and eaten by another animal.
- Pride
- A lion family group of related females, their cubs and one or more adult males.
- Rosette
- A rose shaped cluster of dark spots, found on leopards, jaguars and snow leopards.
- Semi retractable claws
- Claws that cannot be fully pulled in, like a cheetah's, which grip the ground when running.
- Solitary
- Living alone. Most big cats, except lions, are solitary as adults.
- Territory
- An area an animal defends against others of its kind.
- Vulnerable
- An IUCN Red List category for species at high risk of extinction in the wild. Lions, leopards, cheetahs and snow leopards are Vulnerable.
- Wildlife corridor
- A strip of habitat that links populations so animals can move between them.
Quick check
Fill in the word: A lion family group is called a . A rose shaped cluster of spots is a . An animal that is hunted is called .
Answers: pride, rosette, prey.
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APA: BigCatWise. (2026, October 8). Vocabulary. Joshua Israel Ventures LLC. https://bigcatwise.com/teachers/big-cat-vocabulary.html
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