Largest feline carnivore
Who
Amur tiger, Siberian tiger, Siberian tiger
Where
Not Applicable ()

The world's largest wild cat is the Siberian or Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), native to eastern Russia, north-east China and North Korea. Males, which are bigger than females, typically have a total length of 2.7–3.3 metres (8 feet 10 inches–10 feet 9 inches) from nose to tail tip, as measured between the pegs, a shoulder height of 0.99–1.07 metres (3 feet 3 inches–3 feet 6 inches), and a weight of 180–306 kilograms (397–675 pounds).

Historically, there are reports of exceptional specimens reaching up to 4 m (13 ft) long. An unconfirmed report by Russian naturalist Vyacheslav Sysoyev mentions one male Siberian tiger weighing 384 kilograms (846 pounds 9 ounces), which was shot in the Sikhote Alin Gory Mountains, Maritime Territory, Russian Federation, in 1950. Bakyov reported specimens from Manchuria weighing 390–400 kg (860–880 lb). There is reason to believe that such large individuals are now a thing of the past owing to over-hunting of the most sizeable tigers or a reduction of prey over time. Other scientists suggest that these reports may all have been exaggerations.

An outsized male Bengal tiger (P. t. tigris) shot in northern Uttar Pradesh, India, in November 1967, measured 3.22 m (10 ft 7 in) between pegs – or 3.37 m (11 ft 1 in) over the curves – and weighed approximately 389 kg (857 lb). However, it must be taken into account that this particular tiger had killed a buffalo the night before, so had a very full stomach! This specimen is now on display at the US Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, USA.

In captivity, the largest tiger on record was a Siberian male named Jaipur, owned by American animal trainer Joan Byron Marasek. In 1986, at the age of nine years old, Jaipur measured 3.32 m (10 ft 11 in) long from nose to tail tip and weighed 423 kg (932 lb).

The largest living cat is Hercules, an adult male liger (lion x tigress hybrid) currently housed at Myrtle Beach Safari, a wildlife reserve in South Carolina, USA. In total length, he measures 3.33 m (131 in), stands 1.25 m (49 in) at the shoulder and weighs 418.2 kg (922 lb).