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Showing posts with label big cats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label big cats. Show all posts
Big is not bad: Scientists call for preservation of large carnivores
The world is losing its large carnivores, their ranges are collapsing and many species are at risk of extinction.
“Promoting tolerance and coexistence with large carnivores is a crucial societal challenge that will ultimately determine the fate of Earth’s largest carnivores and all that depends upon them, including humans,” write the co-authors of a review article, in the Jan. 10 issue of Science, about the largest carnivore species on Earth.
Source: Here
Source: Here
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']]}Tiger Genome Sequenced, Shows Big Cats Evolved to Kill
The first sequenced tiger genome shows that big cats evolved to kill.
Genes for strong muscle fibers and for meat-eating appear narrowly shared, researchers reported, among species as distinct as the African lion and Asia's snow leopard.
Scientists mapped the genes of the endangered Siberian tiger (or Amur tiger), both to understand the genes that make big cat species distinct from one another and to aid efforts to preserve genetic diversity in wild tiger populations. (Also see "Isolated Tigers Travel Surprising Lands to Find Mates.")
Source: Here
Genes for strong muscle fibers and for meat-eating appear narrowly shared, researchers reported, among species as distinct as the African lion and Asia's snow leopard.
Source: Here
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']]}Not All Speed: Cheetahs Kill in Prey-Specific 'Deadly Tango' of Agility
A new study of cheetahs has determined that the cat's unrivaled speed it not the only tactical advantage it has while on the hunt: cheetahs also employ a killing technique equivalent to a deadly tango that is specific to the type of prey they are after.
The study, which was published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, was conducted by an international team of researchers who used GPS and accelerometer data loggers to study the big cats.
Source: Here
Source: Here
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Panthers
Panthers remain to be among the most popular of big cats, with their dark sheens typically associated with the dark mysterious sides of cats.
With Bagheera from the Jungle Book being one of the most recognized panther characters in the world, Bagheera’s popularity has added fuel to the world’s fascination with panthers, with the Disney produced movie of the story doing its part in making them more and more interesting and popular to children.
Here’s a quick take in helping resolve such confusions.
The Black Panther – Panthers, generally speaking, are not exactly a species, but is rather a name that is typically utilized in defining a “big cat” with black fur.
Jaguars and leopards with dark furs are therefore included in the panther title, with both being big cats and coming with dark hued furs.
Considered to be among the most “elusive of big cats”, panthers are collectively and unofficially classified as endangered species, based on the fact that both Panthers and Jaguars are known to experience declines in their population numbers.
In the Jungle Book movie, Bagheera is described in IMDB as a panther. Given that panthers are native in Africa, the Americas and in Asia, Bagheera’s presence in the movie fits well with its overall plot, staying true to its base location or environment.
With the movie telling the tale of how jungle animals tried their best to convince a human child who had grown up in the jungle to go back to human settlements, the Jungle Book continues to be a story which is loved by many even until today.
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']]}Lions
The 1996 movie entitled The Ghost In The Darkness – starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer – took a different take on the strength and power of the lion, this time depicting them as man killers who are intent on having human beings as prey. Based on a true story which took place in 1896, two lions had been causing unrest in a railroad construction site in East Africa, believed to have been responsible for killing 130 people.
For one, lions are known to sleep for at least 20 hours a day, which practically means they are active for only short durations of time, though this is dependent on their activities and such.
Highly sociable, lions are considered to be the most sociable of all the big cats in Africa, with a group of lions consisting of around 15 members at a time. Within that group, it is the females which do all the hunting, as the males simply partake in the catch females would bring back to the group. Males are also the first to partake in the feast.
As the lion’s roar has been legendary, the average lion’s roar can actually be heard through long distances, reaching as far as 5 miles away. As long as the range of their roars are, the average lion can also run as fast as 50 miles per hour, though these speeds are mostly during short run-distance bursts. Also, a lion can leap distances as wide as 36 feet.
One contradictory thing about lions is that they may be dubbed as the “king of the jungle”, but their natural habitats are mostly plains and grasslands. Also, it has been proven that you can easily assess the age of a lion through the color of its mane. The darker the hue, the older the lion typically is.
Though they may not exactly be the kings of the jungle, lions continue to be one of the world’s most well-loved of the big cats family, proudly standing as symbols of strength and power.
Lions Video
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']]}Tigers
Tigers are among the most recognized among large cats, even ascribed to be the veritable symbol of conservation and eco-awareness, given the fact that a number of organizations have used the image of tigers in countless campaigns and programs geared for environmental conservation.
The 1964 feature titled A Tiger Walks looked into the tale of a circus tiger, who, after escaping from its enclosure, became the subject of a mass hunt, with people intent on having the creature killed, save one little girl.
Tigers, as large cats, are ascribed to be the largest and are famous for their black strips and orange coats. Like how fingerprints are unique to human beings, the stripes of a tiger are unique as well, with the strips above the tiger’s eyes similarly shaped with others, with differences in the rest of the body and the tiger’s face being a prominent form feature.
Apart from the orange and black stripes, white tigers are known to exist, oftentimes the result of inbreeding among species. As such, white tigers are not always found in the wild given the fact that most inbreeding instances with tigers occur when they are kept in captivity.
As tigers, white tigers are similar in form with orange and black striped tigers, differing only with their deep brown stripes and blue eyes, with some white tigers having no stripes at all.
A “black tiger” variant is known to exist, but only one specimen, a pelt taken from illegal traders, stands to be the only proof of their existence. Based on the specimen, black tigers have all black faces and backs, with stripes falling down on the sides of its body.
Being one of the world’s endangered species, tigers have long captured the fascination of people, given their allure in being mysterious, as predators who can be loving and gentle at the same time.
Tigers Video
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