In order to understand the growth patterns of African lion (Panthera leo leo) cubs, Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) cubs, and leopard (Panthera pardus) cubs, we analyzed the body weight of 17 hand-rearing African lion cubs, 15 hand-rearing Bengal tiger cubs and 10 hand-rearing leopard cubs. We found that their growth curve fitted the Logistic, Gompertz and Von Bertalanffy models, respectively. We also compared the growth and development trend of different species and the sexual difference of the same species based on the growth curve with ideal fitting effect. The results show that the Logistic model may ideally fit the growth curve of lion and tiger cubs from birth to about 100-day old and leopard cubs from birth to about 200-day old. The growth curves of African lion and Bengal tiger are similar, but there are significant differences between the growth curves of the two and the leopard. The growth curves of female and male African lion cubs are similar, but there are significant differences between the growth curves of female and male Bengal tiger and leopard cubs. These results summarize the early growth and development of African lions, Bengal tigers, and leopards, suggesting that the time of male-female difference in feline body weight growth might be related to the survival strategies and rearing methods of the species. This study could provide an important theoretical and practical basis for the conservation of large cat populations.
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