See Africa's big cats in action in this photo essay.

View additional online and print resources for NATURE's "Chasing Big Cats."

Cats command our attention and our devotion. These fascinating creatures have been perplexing people for thousands of years.

Production credits for EXTRAORDINARY CATS.

Online and print resources for EXTRAORDINARY CATS.

Birds do it, bees do it -- and so do salmon, rats, and cats. "It" is homing: finding your way back home even after traveling long distances over unfamiliar territory.

Cat breeding has become a multi-billion dollar business around the world, with breeders constantly competing to create exotic new varieties that might win the blue ribbon at the next pet show.

EXTRAORDINARY CATS profiles the incredible exploits that even the most complacent fat cat can perform.

Hunted almost to extinction over the past three centuries, cougars are making a comeback today, with some 30,000 living in the wilds of North and South America.

Cougar attacks are on the rise in North America. Such ambushes are an increasing fact of life in cougar country, which stretches across a large swath of western North America.