Jeanette's Wild World of Nature: Wild Cats

[Ninjavenom]

El Gato :o

[The Retro Kat]

What about the Retro Kats?

[NIGhtMAre]

I still didnt find the breed but thanx anyway jeanneteX guess he is some type of mix breed. :/

[Jeanette X]

This has got to be the cutest cat picture yet. Look at the cub poking his head out from between his mother's legs!

Snow Leopard, or Ounce, with cubs. (Uncia Uncia)
Once thought to be a subspecies of the leopard, it is now known that the Snow Leopard is in fact, a seperate species entirely. It lives in central Asia, in the steep, cold mountainous regions.
It has short forelimbs and long hind limbs to provide increased agility in the steep mountains. Its large paws act as snowshoes, and its long, thick furry tail, which is almost a meter in length, aids in balancing, and is used to wrap around the body and face. It also has a well-developed chest and large nasal cavity, because of the cold, thin air of the high altitudes they live in.
Snow leopards show a strong preference for cliffy habitat with moderately to very broken terrain, rocky outcrops and ravines, as opposed to open smooth slopes and densely forested areas
Snow leopards will take livestock (such as sheep, goats, horses, or young yaks) when their natural prey becomes unavailable due to competition with livestock, hunting/poaching, or other causes.
These cats eat slowly and remain on the kill for several days, protecting it from scavengers such as vultures or ravens until all meat is consumed.
In some areas, notable amounts of plant material are consumed, particularly during mating season perhaps to meet specific nutritional needs.
(information from www.snowleopard.org)

[Johannas]

WILD CAT!!!!!


DTH
JOHANNAS

[Jeanette X]

Leopard and cub. Black leopard, or panther. (Panthera Pardus)
The leopard is found in southern and central Africa, and in some parts of Asia and the middle east. The cat that is usually referred to as a panther is in fact, a melanistic leopard. Melanism refers to having an an usually amount of dark pigment, melanin, in the fur. Panthers are a not a subspeces, merely a variation of the normal species.

Leopard can subsist on an extremely wide range of prey but when available, show a marked preference for small to medium-sized hoofed mammals. When their prey is too large to eat all at once, the leopard is known to drag it away and stuff it into a tree to eat later.

Despite its relatively small body size, the leopard is still capable of taking large prey. Its skull is massive, giving ample room for attachment of powerful jaw muscles. Its whiskers are particularly long and there are often several extra long hairs in the eyebrows, protecting the eyes and assisting movement through vegetation in darkness (Skinner and Smithers 1990). Its scapula is adapted for the attachment of powerful muscles that raise the thorax, enhancing its ability to climb trees (Hopwood 1947). Leopards can live independent of water for periods of time, obtaining moisture requirements from prey (Bothma and Le Riche 1986). (http://lynx.uio.no/lynx/catfolk/ssaprd02.htm)

[The_voice_of_reason]

In a local advertising flyer i saw an ad for Ocecats, they were a crossbreed between ocelots and domestic cats. I called to see about buying one but the guy wanted $700

[Jeanette X]

Its better to try to find some kittens at a shelter. Lots of nice kittens get put to sleep because no home can be found for them.

[Jeanette X]

Puma (Puma concolor)
The puma is often referred to as a cougar, a mountain lion, catamount, and even as a panther, although this is incorrect. The word "puma" comes from the native language of Peru, and the word "cougar" comes from its native Brazilian name, "cuguacuarana". Puma is pronounced "poo-mah", not "pew-mah".
Cougars are polygamous. A male with a large home range is able to breed a large number of females, and this increases his reproductive success. A resident male usually attempts to maintain exclusive breeding rights with females within his area.
The male visits all the females he can find, continually searching for those in heat that will accept him, and marks out his territory with scent posts called scrapes. He may travel many kilometres in these searches; one male covered 50km in a day and a night. Fighting may occur initially, but once individuals are settled on a territory little strife occurs. This peaceful social system helps to maintain stable cougar populations.

Normally a silent hunter, the cougar, like any cat, becomes vocal when ready to breed. Female cougars in heat have been seen and heard yowling. Cougars do not breed in any special season, and the young may be born at any time of the year.

The females mate for the first time when they are two to three years old, and the gestation period is about 90 days. The female selects a sheltered spot, such as a cave or windfall, for her litter. From one to six cubs may be born, although rarely are more than three full-grown cubs found with the mother. The cubs are born with closed eyes that are fully open by the end of the second week. They are usually weaned at four to five weeks. Care of the cubs rests solely with the female, who brings them food and teaches them to hunt. She prevents the male from even approaching the small cubs, by combat if necessary, as the adult male has been known to eat them. The cubs stay with the female until they are about one and a half years old, by which time the male kittens are larger than their mother. In spite of her instructions in the rudiments of survival, the cubs have a difficult time when they are first on their own. Resident females usually produce litters every 18-24 months. In the southwestern foothills of Alberta, the rate at which kittens reached independence was close to two kittens per female per year over a seven-year period.
(source: http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/hww-fap/...cies=57&lang=e)
Mountain lions are solitary animals. Their solitary existence is interrupted during the breeding season and during the period of juvenile dependence. Population densities vary from as low as one individual per 85 square kilometers to as high as one per 13 to 54 square kilometers. These mammals space themselves so that local food supplies and other essentials are not depleted. Females with dependent cubs live within the wide space used by the resident male. Residents mark their territories by depositing urine or fecal materials by the trees they marked with scrapes. The mountain lion is primarily nocturnal in its activity. It acquaints itself with its environment and food sources by relying mainly on vision, smell, and hearing. The mountain lion vocalizes with low-pitched hisses, growls, and purrs to get attention. The loud, chirping whistle by the young serves to direct the mother's attention to the cub. Males are found together immediately after leaving their mother, but rarely as established adults. The mountain lion has summer and winter home areas in different locations, requiring a migration between ranges.
Pumas are found in almost all of South America, all of central America, Mexico, the western United States, and southwestern Canada.
(http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/puma/p._concolor$narrative.html)

[Jeanette X]

Jaguar (Panthera onca)
Although most jaguars resemble the individual above, melanism is fairly common and thus black jaguars are often seen. Albino individuals have also been reported. The word "Jaguar" comes from the native word "yaguara", which means "a beast that kills its prey with one bound." Indeed, it regularly kills its prey with a single bite, cracking open the head with its canine. Its large head and canines are an adaptation to do this.
Large prey, such as peccaries, tapirs and deer, may be preferred, but a jaguar will eat almost anything it can catch. They will sometimes prey on ranch cattle.
If food is scarce they will often need to roam over an area of 200 square miles in search of food. Jaguars are rapid runners, but tire quickly, and can climb trees well. They are also proficient swimmers and prefer areas with plenty of fresh water.
The jaguar prefers a warm, tropical climate. It inhabits Mexico, central America, and South America.
Although black jaguars are sometimes referred to as panthers, they are not to be confused with the leopard, which is not found anywhere in the new world. The jaguar is a very prominent figure in South American Indian mythology, and was even worshipped in some cultures.

[Jeanette X]

I guess people are begining to loose interest in this thread. Ah well, I might as well finish what I started. :/


Lion female and cub, lion male. (Panthera leo)
The African lion is found in various places of Africa, and the Asian lion is found only in Gujarat, India, with a population of about 290, although they once had a much larger population and range.
Lions are carnivores; their diet consists of a variety of meats ranging from small insects to large herbivores such as giraffes. The lionesses are the hunters in the pride, hunting either in the morning or at night. Packs of lionesses form within a single pride. The lionesses hide in small groups to ambush their prey. As soon as one of the lionesses spot the prey and is in postion, she begins her attack. by sinking her teeth into the neck area of the prey and cuting off the air supply. Some prey animals are so large that as the lioness anchors her teeth into the neck, other lionesses come and start biting the animal. Soon it is helpless and can do nothing. Lions can run up to 60 kilometers per hour (30 mph), and they tackle prey that might outweigh them by 27 to 32 kilograms
After they feed, they may not hunt again for several days. When the lions feast, they eat all of the prey at once. Sometimes when the lioness makes the kill, she secretly hides the carcass behind tall or bushy vegatation and eats it there to keep other predators from stealing her kill. If live prey is not available, then lions will scavenge for food.
Prides consist of one or more family units. A family unit cantains 1 or 2 males with a number of females and cubs. There can be as many as 30 to 40 members in one pride.
When a male takes over a pride, it kills most of the cubs. Loss of nursing cubs causes the females to come into estrus earlier than they otherwise would, and it reduces competition for future offspring. Lions sometimes attack their prey and then let it go just before killing it. This action may serve as a teaching tool for the cubs and also a form of practice for the adults.
Grooming, rubbing, and tail chasing are all common behaviors among lions.
Pride territories range from 40 to 400 square miles.
These cats use their black and white vision to stalk their prey. The prides usually lay low in the day time but when night falls their keen eyesight and hearing always aids them in making a kill. Lions travel about 500 meters from their habitat to the water holes or salt licks.
Source: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.ed...ra/p._leo.html
Hunting is also a shared process - the individual if relatively inefficient at hunting, and cannot sustain high-speed pursuit for long periods of time. Lionesses hunt by ambush, with the majority of the hunting group chasing the prey toward individuals lying in wait who are then able to give chase over short distances before leaping on the selected animal for the kill. The lions prey consists mainly of medium to large herd animals such as antelope, gazelle and wildebeest. Once the prey is taken it is common for the males of the pride to eat first even though they take no part in the hunting process. The females are next to feed followed by the cubs - it is common, when prey is scarce, that the young will often starve as a result of being last in the pecking order for food.
Incoming males provide another threat to the young cubs of the pride. When a male lion reaches maturity it leaves its natural pride and goes in search of another pride for which it must fight for the right to join. Older or injured males are ousted by the young incoming male, who then takes up residence in the pride, often killing the cubs of the beaten male, thus ensuring that its own, future offspring, will have greater chance of survival.
(Source: http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/agarman/lion.htm)
This all sounds kinda like wolves, doesn't it?

[Cybernetico]

Please get to the snow tigers, those are the best

[Jeanette X]

Tiger and cubs, rare "snow" tiger. (Panthera tigris)
Although the Snow Leopard is an entirely seperate species from the leopard, the Snow Tiger is simply an ordinary tiger with white coloration. They are extremely rare, as only one out of every 100,000 tigers has the white coloration.
The tiger's body is built in such a way to aid in its hunting techniques. Longer hindlimbs than forelimbs are an adaptation for jumping, while strong and powerful forelimbs and shoulders aid in dragging down large prey. Like all cats, tigers have sharp retractile claws. These help this predator to hold onto its prey once the initial attack is made.
Another adaptation to hunting is the tiger's large and powerful jaw, which includes relatively flattened canines. The jaw's power makes the tiger's bite deadly.
The stripes on a tiger act in the same way that a fingerprint does on a human. Each stripe pattern is unique to that particular individual.
The main source of food for tigers is large, hooved mammals, but they will eat anything they can catch. Where wild prey is scarce, tigers will readily prey on livestock if it is available. The moderately dense covering in which tigers and their prey live aids in the success of their hunting technique. Tigers are stalk and ambush predators, and they use the dense covering to conceal themselves and sneak up on their prey. When the tiger is close enough to its prey, it suddenly rushes at it and attempts to kill it. Only 1 in 10 or 20 attacks is successful. The tiger uses its powerful body to knock the prey off balance. The attack is normally made from the side or rear of the victim, and the objective is to get the prey off of its feet and to deliver a fatal bit to the back of the neck or throat. The tiger may keep his grip several minutes after death. When the tiger is ready to begin eating its kill, it drags the carcass into a dense covering and begins eating the rump. A considerable amount of meat can be consumed at one time (20-35kg), however, if the kill is to sustain an individual over several days, the amount eaten is generally less (15-18kg/day). Female tigers with young have to kill more often to feed their young and themselves as well.
In general, the social system of the tiger is not very complex. The mother and her young are the basic social unit. Tigers generally hunt alone; however, there have been instances when a high degree of social tolerance has been demonstrated (MacDonald, 1987). Sometimes tigers are seen in groups in the wild at bait kills, as well as in zoos occupying the same exhibit.
(Source: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/panthera/p._tigris$narrative.html)
Odd fact: When you shave a tiger, striped skin can be found underneath.
Thats all of the wild cat species-but there is still more to come. Next post will be about interspecies hybrids.
If you want to help save wild cats, please go to http://bigcats.care2.com/ . Clicking on one of the animals generates a donation towards saving its habitat, paid for by the corperate sponsors of the site. You can only click on one cat, once per day. Other clicks will not be counted. It only takes a second, and it is free. Be sure to check out the other free-click areas of the site as well.
There is also another free click link that I edited into this thread. Go to the post with the Iberian Lynx and you should find it.

[Jixby Phillips]

CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT

[Kitty of Doom]

[Jeanette X]

Awwww....what a cute widdle kitten!
Hybrid Big Cats

Hybrid animals almost certainly only exist in captivity and are the result of human intervention, along with the unnatural living circumstances presented by captivity, and on occasion, artificial insemination. Small wild cat and domestic cat hybrids have been introduced as pets, but those species are usually several generations removed from their wild ancestor.


Pumapard. Offspring of a puma and leopardess.


Servicals. Offspring of a male serval and a female caracal. The offspring of a male caracal and female servals are called caravals.


Tigon. A cross between a male tiger and female lion.


Liger. A cross between a female lion and a male tiger.


Leopon. Cross between a leopard and lioness.


Jaglion. A cross between a jaguar and a lion.


Bobcat-Lynx hybrid.

It is extremely unlikely that such hybrids occur naturally.

Likely encounter of two different wild cat species in the wild:


Lion:Hey stripey, what the hell do you think you're doing in my territory?!
Tiger: Me?! what the hell do you you're doing in my territory, blondie?!
Lion: ROAR!
Tiger: ROAR!
*fur and fangs fly*

[Anonymous]

servical :o