Contents What Are Big Cats 4 In and Out of the Wild 8 House Cats and Big Cats 10 The Big Cat Menu 12 Purr or Roar 14 Not Just a Scratch 16 Captivity 18 Big Cats on the Screen 22 True Stories 24 Laws for Big Paws 28 Glossary 30 For More Information 31 Index 32 Words in the glossary appear in bold type the first time they are used in the text
Big Cats big cat CUBS Big cat cubs begin life small but grow very quickly for example a lion cub weighs about 2 pounds 0 9 kg at birth it weighs about 100 pounds 45 kg when it’s a year old fully grown though it may be about 30 times the size of a house cat 4 If you visit the zoo you may see big cats such as lions and tigers They can be very cute especially when they’re young You might even wish you could have one for a pet You may dream of cuddling with a tiger cub or riding it around when it’s full grown You may picture yourself training a huge lion you’ve cared for since it was born In the safety of your imagination having a big cat as a pet is fun Real life is quite different though Big cats are wild and dangerous no matter how fuzzy and fun they may look What are
By the time these cubs are 12 weeks old they’ll be big enough to be dangerous This girl is petting them under the close watch of a zoo official They could still hurt her 5
