No, tigers are not felines

National Geographic, Dec 30 - If someone asks us to classify a tiger or a lion, the vast majority of us will say that they are felines. However, from a strictly scientific point of view, they are not. Instead of felines, they should be classified as felids, which, in fact, is the family of carnivorous mammals to which they belong, which is distinguished mainly by the shape of the skull, its muscular body with flexible limbs and by the fact that they have retractable claws that they hide inside a kind of sheath, which allows them, among other aspects, to wear out less than other species.

So, why do we call them felines? It is because of the subfamily to which they belong (Felinae) that includes other species such as the leopard, the caracal or the domestic cat. Unlike the other subfamily, the pantherines (Pantherinae), they are slender and agile, although they do not have the ability to roar, as lions, tigers or leopards do. (Text: National Geographic) (Photo: Archive)