A small but very important group of felids, among the stealthiest hunters in the animal kingdom.
Felids (Felidae) are a family of placental mammals in the order Carnivora. They have a slender body, sharp hearing, a short muzzle and excellent eyesight: they are the stealthiest hunting mammals. Most eat only meat and ignore any food other than live prey; they catch it with their sharp claws and usually kill it with a single, tenacious bite.
With the exception of cheetahs, all felids can retract their claws into a protective sheath when they are not using them.
There are around forty species in this family, many of which are scarce today because they have been hunted for their fur or to use parts of their bodies, or because their habitat is being destroyed, as is the case of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), the most endangered felid. Except in Antarctica, Oceania and some islands, they are found all over the world.
In this gallery you can get to know a small (but very important) group of species:
