Which wild cat is the GOAT?

Take a look at the lineup of any sports tournament, and there’s a good chance you’ll find a mascot of the feline variety: tigers, cougars, bobcats, wildcats. It’s no wonder — wild cats are some of nature’s top athletes. But which wild cat is the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT)?

Cheetahs are the fastest land animals on the planet and can reach speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour or 75 miles per hour. Cheetahs are physically adapted for running to help them catch quick prey species. 

When it comes to climbing, leopards are king. These spotted sportsmen will often haul their kills up into a tree, out of reach of other carnivores. They can leave the carcass and return later to enjoy a meal. 

Lions lean into teamwork. Groups of females — and sometimes coalitions of males — work cooperatively to hunt wildebeest, zebra, impala, warthogs and more. In some parts of Africa, lions have even been known to hunt both elephants and crocodiles.  

When it comes to swimming, the jaguar takes the cake. Jaguars are the most aquatic of all seven big cat species. They can thrive in a variety of wet habitats including flooded forests and the Brazilian Pantanal wetlands. Fishing cats, a rare small cat found in South and Southeast Asia, are also excellent swimmers. Their webbed feet and large, protruding claws help them catch aquatic prey like fish, and these cats can fully submerge themselves underwater in search of a meal. 

Big cats are the ultimate long-distance trekkers, with young males in particular often traveling far and wide in search of new territory. The longest known dispersal of a puma wearing a GPS collar was a female that moved 830 miles. A young male mountain lion killed on a highway in Connecticut in 2011 was estimated to have dispersed 1, 800 miles, but his exact line of travel remains speculative.

Clouded leopards, marbled cats and margays can walk vertically head-first down trees. 

Caracals and servals are Olympic-worthy jumpers and can even catch birds in flight with a single vertical leap, sometimes higher than 2 meters. Pumas can leap more than 25 feet on the horizontal from a standing position. 

When it comes to cats, we think they’re all MVPs, and you can be a conservation GOAT by helping us protect these incredible animal athletes. 

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