Living with Humans

To humans, the big cats have often held social and religious significance. Tigers and jaguars have been worshipped in their native lands, while lions and leopards have been used by many nationalities as symbols of royalty.

Other than the domestic cat, the cheetah has the longest history of living alongside people. From Ethiopia through the Arabian peninsula to Mogul India, cheetahs were used for centuries as hunting companions, raised to hunt antelope and other herbivores.

In India, the cheetah's role was similar to that of the falcon in Europe: it was taken, blindfolded, to the hunting area and freed when the quarry was sighted. India's other big cat, the tiger, has never been tamed.

Although tigers rarely make contact with humans, in the absence of other prey some do learn to kill people, and the man-eating tiger has become embedded in Indian folklore. Labeled a "man-eater," it was hanted extensively in the 19th century and is now an endangered species.