Name Date Big Cats Habitats Answer Key Part 1. Your teacher will show you images of each big cat. Observe the images and draw each big cat in the column labeled Big Cat Sketch. As you sketch, think about the unique features that distinguish these big cats from one another. Take notes on each cat’s unique features. You can use the back of this worksheet to record your notes. Part 2. Identify the continent and region that make up the species range of each big cat. Write the name of the continent in the column labeled Continent. Your choices are: Africa, Asia, North America, and South America. Part 3. Identify the habitat where each of these big cats lives and write it in the column labeled Habitat Type. Your choices are: savanna, mangrove swamp, tropical rain forest, forests of all types, or boreal forest. Big Cat Habitat Example Big Cat Continent Habitat Name Description Habitat Sketch Type Location African Lion a type of tropical Maasai Mara Drawings will vary. Africa savanna grassland with National Park, scattered trees Kenya Bengal coastal wetland Sundarbans, Drawings will vary. Asia mangrove Tiger dominated by Ganges River swamp mangrove trees, Delta, India which have roots that can survive in salty water © 2011 National Geographic Society © 2011 www.education.nationalgeographic.com 1 Big Cats Habitats Answer Key, continued Big Cat Habitat Example Big Cat Continent Habitat Name Description Habitat Sketch Type Location Jaguar area of tall Amazon Drawings will vary. South tropical evergreen trees Basin, Brazil America rain forest and a high amount of rainfall, often near the Equator Leopard a type of tropical Maasai Mara Drawings will vary Africa savanna grassland with National Park, scattered trees Kenya Mountain ecosystem filled Idaho and Drawings will vary. North forests of Lion with trees and Utah, western America many types underbrush United States © 2011 National Geographic Society © 2011 www.education.nationalgeographic.com 2 Big Cats Habitats Answer Key, continued Big Cat Habitat Example Big Cat Continent Habitat Name Description Habitat Sketch Type Location Ocelot area of tall Amazon Drawings will vary. South tropical evergreen trees Basin, Brazil America rain forest and a high amount of rainfall, often near the Equator Siberian land covered by northeastern Drawings will vary Asia boreal Tiger evergreen trees Russia forest in cool, northern latitudes Part 4. Answer the following questions. 1. Do any of the big cats’ species ranges overlap? Which ones? _____________________________ The ranges of the African lion ____________________________________________________________________________________and leopard overlap, as do the ranges of the ocelot, mountain lion, and jaguar. 2. Which big cats live in similar habitats? Why do you think they do? _________________________Jaguars and ocelots share ____________________________________________________________________________________similar habitats, as do African lions and leopards. Big cats that have common ranges and ____________________________________________________________________________________habitats may also share common physical characteristics, behaviors, and adaptations that ____________________________________________________________________________________enable them to survive in their respective environments. 3. The Bengal and Siberian tigers are subspecies of the same species, panthera tigris. How many different subspecies of tigers are listed in the chart? Describe two ways different subspecies of tigers are different. Describe how different subspecies of tigers are similar. ____________________________________________________________________________________Two species (subspecies) of tiger are listed. Siberian tigers and Bengal tigers have different ____________________________________________________________________________________ranges, habitats, and are found on different continents. Both tiger species have similar ____________________________________________________________________________________physical characteristics and ecological roles they play in their respective habitats. 4. What are two ways that mountain lions are different from African lions? ____________________ Although mountain ____________________________________________________________________________________and African lions are both called “lions,” they are very different in terms of their physical characteristics, species ranges, and habitats. ____________________________________________________________________________________ © 2011 National Geographic Society © 2011 www.education.nationalgeographic.com 3.