ETYM French couguar, from the native name in the South American dialects, cuguacuara, cuguacuarana.
Large, brown American wild cat; puma.
Large American feline resembling a lion; SYN. puma, catamount, mountain lion, painter, panther, Felis concolor.
Another name for the puma, a large North American cat.

ETYM Braz. yagoára: cf. and Portu. jaguar.
A large spotted feline of tropical America similar to the leopard; in some classifications considered a member of the genus Felis; SYN. panther, Panthera onca, Felis onca.
British automobile manufacturer that has enjoyed a long association with automobile racing; owned by Ford from 1989. One of the most successful companies in the 1950s, Jaguar won the Le Mans 24-hour race five times 1951–58.
The legendary XK120 was built 1949. In the 1960s Jaguar were unable to compete with more powerful Ferrari sports automobiles and they did not make a comeback until the 1980s. In 1989 the company was bought by Ford for £1.6 billion.
Largest species of cat Panthera onca in the Americas, formerly ranging from the southwestern US to southern South America, but now extinct in most of North America. It can grow up to 2.5 m/8 ft long including the tail.
The background color of the fur varies from creamy white to brown or black, and is covered with black spots. The jaguar is usually solitary.

ETYM Old Eng. pantere, French panthère, Latin panthera, Greek panther, prob. from Skr. pundrîka a tiger.
Or leopard; Cat Panthera pardus, found in Africa and Asia. The background color of the coat is golden, and the black spots form rosettes that differ according to the variety; black panthers are simply a color variation and retain the patterning as a “watered-silk” effect. The leopard is 1.5–2.5 m/5–8 ft long, including the tail, which may measure 1 m/3 ft.
The snow leopard or ounce p. uncia, which has irregular rosettes of much larger black spots on a light cream or gray background, is a native of mountains in central Asia. The clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa is rather smaller, about 1.75 m/5.8 ft overall, with large blotchy markings rather than rosettes, and is found in se Asia. There are seven subspecies, of which six are in danger of extinction, including the Amur leopard and the South Arabian leopard. One subspecies, the Zanzibar leopard, may already be extinct. The last Judean desert leopard died May 1995, although a small population survives in the Negev desert.
A leopard in the black color phase.

ETYM Peruv. puma.
Also called cougar or mountain lion; Large wild cat Felis concolar found in North and South America. Tawny-coated, it is 1.5 m/4.5 ft long with a 1-m/3-ft tail. Cougars live alone, with each male occupying a distinct territory; they eat deer, rodents, and cattle. They have been hunted nearly to extinction.
A large American carnivore (Felis concolor), found from Canada to Patagonia, especially among the mountains. Its color is tawny, or brownish yellow, without spots or stripes. Also called cougar or mountain lion.