Dogs have a natural instinct to chase smaller animals that flee, an instinct common among cats. Most cats flee from a dog, while others take actions such as hissing, arching their backs and swiping at the dog. After being scratched by a cat, some dogs can become fearful of cats.

In fact, it is thought that competition from cats caused up to 40 species of dog to become extinct in the region millions of years ago. The introduction of cats from Asia into the Americas 18.5 million years ago is thought to have drastically decreased the biodiversity of dogs, according to researchers.

13 percent of wild cats are considered Endangered, but none Critically Endangered, though many populations are on the decline. Conservationists face a lack of information in some cases, since very little is known for about about 20 percent of Endangered wild cats species. …

Explanation: The Iberian Lynx, the world’s most endangered feline species, could go extinct in just 50 years.

The question of which came first, the dog or the cat, has long been settled: Canines are the clear winner by what looks increasingly to be tens of thousands of years. But new evidence out of China has placed the date for the origins of the cat there some 3,500 years earlier than previously thought.

Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica), also critically endangered, have doubled their population in the same region where Amur leopards live. The two big feline species will probably not compete with each other for food—they prey on different animals—but they do compete for space.

Conservation measures have been implemented since then, which included improving habitat, restocking of rabbits, translocating, reintroducing and monitoring Iberian lynxes. By 2012, the population had increased to 326 individuals, to 855 in 2020, and to 1,111 in 2021.

Many of these cats are literally months from being extinct. You can do your part by donating to the World Conservation Union. Amur Tiger also known as the Siberian Tiger: With approximately 400 to 500 of these incredible cats left, the Amur Tiger’s days are numbered.

Time of Extinction: Giant Cheetah became extinct in the last ice age. Family: It was a big cat species and Its closest existing relative is the present day cheetah. Habitat: These cats resided in Asia and Europe (from France and Germany to China and India).

“Instead, competition among different carnivore species proved to be even more important for canids.” While early cats might have driven many species of early dogs to extinction, it appears that dogs had a leg up in their partnership with early humans.

Today, the possibility of mass extinction of plants and animals is more apparent than ever. This is especially true for the big cats whose population has been dwindling at an alarming rate. Cats (the Felidae) were for a long time the most powerful and most successful predators on earth.