Nat Geo WILD's "Big Cat Week" debuts Sunday with the goalof raisingawareness about endangered animals and spurring viewers to take action.
Here are some fast facts about the big cats of the world:
Cheetah
Cheetahs do not roar, as the other big cats do. Instead, they purr.
The cheetah is the world's fastest land mammal. It can run at speeds of up to 70 miles an hour.
In one stride, a cheetah can cover 23 to 26 feet.
More:Cheetahs, the world’s fastest cats, can go from 0 to 60 mph in three seconds
Lion
Unlike other cats, lions have a tuft of hair at the end of their tails.
An adult lion's roar can be heard up to five miles away.
In the wild, lions live for an average of 12 years and up to 16 years. They live up to 25 years in captivity.
Lions are the only cats that live in groups, called prides. Every female in the pride is usually related.
More:What do lions really want? Some stability
Mountain Lion
Mountain lions are strongjumpers, thanks to muscular hind legs that are longer than their front legs.
After humans, mountain lions have the largest range of any mammal in the Western Hemisphere.
The mountain lion and the cheetah share an ancestor.
Tiger
Tigers are excellent swimmers and do not avoid water.
Tigers have been hunted for their skin, bones and other body parts, used in traditional Chinese medicine.
A tiger's stripes are like fingerprints, notwo animals have the same pattern.
Jaguar
Fossil records from two million years ago show evidence of jaguars.
The name "jaguar" comes from a Native American word meaning "he who kills with one leap."
Leopard
The leopard is the most widespread of all big cats.
The strongest climber among the big cats, a leopard can carry prey twice its weight up a tree.
Long, muscular hind legs enable snow leopards to leap seven times their own body length in a single bound.
