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viernes, 22 de agosto de 2008

Nsui-fisi or king Cheeta

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Mutants are natural variations which occur due to spontaneous genetic changes or the expression of recessive (hidden) genes. Albinism (pure white), chinchilla (white with pale markings) and melanism (black) are the commonest mutations. Erythristic (red), leucistic (partial albinism/cream) and maltesing (blue) are also been reported. Sometimes the markings are aberrant e.g. too sparse or too heavy (abundism), giving the appearance of a pale or dark individual. Numerous colour and pattern mutations occur in domestic cats so why are they less common in big cats? Wild cats displaying these traits may be less likely to survive to pass on the traits. In captivity, humans control which traits are bred, hence the multitude of domestic cat colours and types. In the wild, nature selects against any trait which does not enhance the animal's survival chances.

In the past, the obvious reaction to any unusual big cat was to shoot it for the trophy room. As a result, many interesting mutations may have been wiped out before the genes were passed on. Some colour mutations which would disadvantage a wild big cat are bred in captivity and are not viable in the wild. It is questionable whether these mutants should be perpetuated for the sake of curiosity or aesthetics alone.

Some of the information here may also be found in "Mystery Cats of the World" and assorted articles by Karl Shuker. I am grateful to Paul McCarthy for researching and providing extensive material and references.

The king cheetah is a mutant form of cheetah. This may be a form of abundism where spots coalesce into swirls. Alternatively, it may be that cheetahs can also be striped as well as spotted (like blotched tabby and spotted tabby cats). The blotched tabby was one of the first pattern mutations in the domestic cat so it would not be unusual to see this pattern mutation appearing in other cat species. It was originally believed to be a new species of cheetah or a cheetah/leopard hybrid, but is now believed to be a relatively recent mutation. The identity of the king cheetah was not resolved until researchers noticed that some cheetah litters contained both striped individuals and spotted individuals. The darker patten may give better camouflage in less open territory and it has been suggested that evolution is allowing cheetahs to exploit new habitats.

The king cheetah, a cheetah with black stripes along its back and swirls and splotches instead of spots, was first noted in Zimbabwe in 1926. In 1927, the naturalist Pocock declared it a separate species, but reversed this decision in 1939 due to lack of evidence. In 1928, a skin purchased by Lord Rothschild was found to be intermediate in pattern between the king cheetah and spotted cheetah and Abel Chapman voiced the opinion that it was a colour form of the spotted cheetah. 22 skins were found between 1926 and 1974. Since 1927, king cheetahs were reported 5 further times and though strangely marked skins had come from Africa, a live king cheetah was not photographed until 1974 in South Africa's Kruger National Park. Cryptozoologists Paul and Lena Bottriell mounted expeditions to find the king cheetah, finally photographing one in 1975. They also managed to obtain stuffed specimens. The king cheetah appeared larger than a spotted cheetah and its fur had a different texture. There was another wild sighting in 1986 - the first for 7 years. By 1987, 38 specimens had been recorded, many from pelts.

However, the king cheetah was already known to natives and its existence had been pooh-poohed by white hunters and settlers. In 1937, Captain W Hichens, Late of the Intelligence and Administrative Services, East Africa, wrote in African Mystery Beasts. (Discovery (Dec): 369-373) wrote: Nor is the African native a fool in the ways of the bushveld and its beasts; he does not assert that a beast is an mngwa when any old woman in the kraal could tell by a glance at its spoor or by the way it attacked that it is a lion, a leopard or a hyæna. Native hunting lore clearly dis-tinguishes the bush beasts. One well-known hunting-song tells of the simba (lion), nsui (leopard) and the mngwa all in one verse plainly showing that there is no confusion in the native mind between these three great carnivores. Moreover, many white hunters, settlers and officials, whose bona fides cannot be doubted, have spoored, heard, shot at and sometimes even seen and grappled with these mystery monsters; and very occasionally one of the "mythical" beasts is shot or trapped, as happened with the nsui-fisi recently. Then the natives say, "We told you so!" and zoologists scratch their heads and mutter, "ex Africa semper, etc.!"

[...]It is not impossible that the khodumodumo may yet prove to be an animal hitherto unknown. The nsui-fisi was a brute of a similar kind. Its name means " leopard-hyæna," and many hair-raising tales are to be heard of it in Rhodesian kraals. For many years natives have told white hunters of this beast, averring that it was incredibly cunning, swift and ferocious, as one would expect of a hybrid " killer" combining a leopard's ferocity with the hyæna's slinking guile. It always attacked, the kraalsmen said, at night, and smashed its way through the flimsy doors or roofs of stock-pens, making off with goats and sheep, and often turning the pens into a veritable shambles. It was like a leopard, the natives declared, but instead of being spotted, it was barred, white and black, like a zebra, and not unlike a striped hyena. But no such beast was known to white hunters and so the nsui-fisi was pooh-poohed into the limbo of "it's just native superstition, of course!"

In this case, however, the native was right. No less an authority than Mr. R. I. Pocock was able to lay on the table of the Zoological Society not long ago, a skin of the nsui-fisi, one of a number obtained in Rhodesia. It was shown to be a new species of cheetah (Acinonyx rex), not spotted, but striped like a zebra, as the kraalsmen had been saying for many years! As Mr. Pocock remarked, it was "most extraordinary that so large and distinct a species should remain for so long unknown." The natives were wrong in supposing the nsui-fisi to be a leopard-hyaena cross, but that is certainly what it looks like to anyone other than a skilled zoologist. It would thus be rash to assert that other "mythical beasts" like the nsui-fisi cannot exist, and it is by no means impossible that the mngwa, kerit, and ndalawo may yet prove to be as real. By description all these beasts are well known.

The question of its identity was resolved (for Europeans) in the 1981 when king cheetahs were born to spotted cheetah parents at the De Wildt Cheetah Center in South Africa. In May 1981, two sisters gave birth there and each litter contained one king cheetah. The sisters had both been mated to a wild-caught male from the Transvaal area (where King Cheetahs had been recorded) and further King Cheetahs were later born at the Centre. The gene is recessive, meaning it is carried hidden in some spotted cheetahs. When two carriers mate, there is a chance that some offspring will inherit two copies of the hidden gene and be king cheetahs. King cheetahs mated together will produce king cheetahs. This cheetah mutation has been reported in Zimbabwe, Botswana and in the northern part of South Africa's Transvaal province. There are probably only a handful of king cheetahs in the wild, but it has been bred in captivity. As with the selective breeding of white tigers and white lions, there is a danger of inbreeding - since cheetahs are already so inbred (causing infertility problems), this could be disastrous. The king cheetah is disadvantaged when stalking prey on the open plain, but less so in areas where it can begin its sprint from dappled shade.

Woolly cheetahs with longer, denser fur have occurred several times and were thought to be a separate species. They were shot rather than captured alive so the mutation has vanished. They had thicker bodies and stouter limbs than normal cheetahs (this may be a trick of the long hair) with dense, woolly hair especially on the tail and neck where it formed a ruff or mane. The long fur made the normal spotted cheetah pattern indistinct and it appeared pale fawn with dark, round blotches. In domestic cats, the markings of longhairs are less distinct than those of shorthairs due to the blurring effect of longer fur. In domestic cats, long hair is due to a recessive gene, so the gene may still be present in the cheetah gene pool. The cheetah gene pool, however, is not as diverse as the gene pools of most other cat species. The painting of the woolly cheetah (shown below) suggests not only a longhaired cheetah, but a red (erythristic) cheetah.


In 1877, Philip Sclater of the Zoological Society of London wrote of a recent acquisition by the zoo: "It presents generally the appearance of a cheetah, but is thicker in the body, and has shorter and stouter limbs, and a much thicker tail. When adult it will probably be considerably larger than the cheetah, and is larger even now than our three specimens of that animal. The fur is much more woolly and dense than in the cheetah, as is particularly noticeable on the ears, mane, and tail. The whole of the body is of a pale isabelline [yellowish-fawn] colour, rather paler on the belly and lower parts, but covered all over, including the belly, with roundish dark fulvous blotches. There are no traces of th black spots which are so conspicuous in all of the varieties of the cheetah which I have seen, nor of the characteristic black line between the mouth and eye." Although described as blotched, the painting depicts it as freckled. In 1878, a second woolly cheetah was reported as a preserved specimen in the South African Museum. Both the London and South African specimens had come from Beaufort West. In 1884, a third skin was obtained from the same area, though this had more distinct spots and was a little smaller. Sadly, by the 1880s, the trophy hunters had eliminated the woolly cheetah.

In Harmsworth Natural History (1910), R Lydekker wrote of the "hunting leopard" or "chita", as the cheetah was then known: "The hunting leopard of South Africa has been stated to differ from the Indian animal in its stouter build, thicker tail, and denser and more woolly fur, the longest hairs occurring on the neck, ears, and tail. This woolly hunting leopard was regarded by its describer as a distinct species (Cynaelurus lanius), but it is, at most, only a local race, of which the proper name is C. jubatus guttatus."

The Moghul Emperor of India, Jahangir, recorded having a white cheetah presented to him in 1608. In the memoirs of Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, the Emperor says that in the third year of his reign: "Raja Bir Singh Deo brought a white cheetah to show me. Although other sorts of creatures, both birds and beasts have white varieties .... I had never seen a white cheetah. Its spots, which are (usually) black, were of a blue colour, and the whiteness of the body also inclined to blue-ishness." This indicates the chinchilla mutation which restricts the amount of pigment on the hair shaft. Although the spots would have been formed of black pigment, the less dense pigmentation (it does not go all the way to the root of the hair) would have produced a hazy, bluish effect. As well as Jahangir's white cheetah at Agra, a report of "incipient albinism" has come from Beaufort West according to Guggisberg. The two sketches below show an isabelline cheetah and a maltese (blue) cheetah ("isabelline" means yellowish-fawn; maltese means "slate grey").

As well as the possibly red longhaired cheetah shown here, different coloured cheetahs have sometimes occurred. Melanistic (black) and albino (white) cheetahs have been reported. Black cheetahs are all black with ghost markings (Stoneham, 1925). In a letter to "Nature in East Africa", HF Stoneham reported a melanistic cheetah in the Trans-Nzoia District of Kenya in 1925. Vesey Fitzgerald saw a melanistic cheetah in Zambia in the company of a spotted cheetah. Red (erythristic) cheetahs have dark tawny spots on a golden background. Cream (or isabelline) cheetahs appear to be a further dilution of red with pale red spots on a pale background. Blue (or grey) cheetahs have variously been described as white cheetahs with grey-blue spots (chinchilla) or pale grey cheetahs with darker grey spots (maltese mutation). Some desert region cheetahs are unusually pale; probably they are better camouflaged and there

A cheetah with hardly any spots was shot in Tanzania on 1921 (Pocock), it had only a few spots on the neck and back and these were unusually small. This is possibly the same mutation which causes ticked (Abyssinian-type pattern) cats; any markings are restricted to the face, legs and tail with possibly some thin stripes around the neck and barring on the legs. The background colour remains the normal colour, it is just the pattern which is missing.

Cheetahs show less variety in their type than do many other types of big cat due to a genetic bottleneck. The DNA of all modern cheetahs is so similar that it is thought that all cheetahs are descendants of a single mother and cubs. This inbreeding means little genetic variation, poor fertility and increased susceptibility to disease. The appearance and perpetuation of the blotched (king) cheetah is highly significant as it suggests that gene mutations are occurring and that cheetahs may become more genetically diverse in the future.

fore better hunters and more likely to breed and pass on their paler colouration.


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jueves, 21 de agosto de 2008

Margay.

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Until recently, zoologists often classified the smaller species of modern cats together in the single genus Felis, with the big cats usually kept separate as species of the genus Panthera and the cheetah in its own genus, Acinonyx. Much of this classification system has been changed based on DNA work and other genetic studies that suggest a complex history that separates living members of the cat family into eight distinct lineages. Many cats formerly classified as species of Felis do not have the same common ancestors and so are not grouped together. Nonetheless, hybrids between different species of cats are often fertile and can produce fertile offspring.

The eight cat lineages branched from each other at different times over the past 11 million years as the ancestors of modern cats spread from Asia to different parts of the world. Ancient changes in sea level created temporary land links that allowed cats to cross between continents and regions now separated by water. In other cases, sea levels that were as high, or higher, than today separated groups of cats. Both migration and separation affected cat evolution. Most notably, some types of cats that evolved in the Americas from Asian ancestors later migrated back into Asia. Examples include the cheetah—which spread from North America to Asia, and then to Africa—and the lynx—which spread from North America into Asia and into Europe.

The different types of living cats belong to the following groups:

  • The big cats (lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, and snow leopards) along with clouded leopards form a genetic group that originated in Asia.
  • The puma, the jaguarundi, and the cheetah form a genetic group whose earliest ancestor entered the Americas from Asia about nine million years ago.
  • The lynx and the bobcat also originated in North America from Asian ancestors.
  • The ocelot, the margay, and other small- to medium-size cats that inhabit Central and South America form a genetic group whose cells have 36 chromosomes instead of 38, the number in all other cats.
  • The caracal, found in Africa and eastern Asia, and the serval, found only in Africa, form a distinct lineage.
  • Wildcats make up the Felis group and include the direct ancestor of the domestic cat.
  • The Asian leopard cat group includes the fishing cat, Pallas’s cat, and the rusty spotted cat.
  • The bay cats are a separate genetic group of small cats now found in southeast Asia.

VIII

Cat Family Members and Humans

A

Ancient Relations with Cats

The ancestors of humans lived alongside big cats and saber-tooths for millions of years. Early hominids were likely prey for big cats and other large predators. However, hominid species may have scavenged kills made by big cats and their saber-toothed relatives. Hominids could use stones to crack open large bones for marrow, a rich food source not easily available to cats. According to some theories, scavenging of predator kills may have provided a food source that helped early forms of humans spread out of Africa into Asia and Europe around 1.8 million years ago.



The earliest direct evidence of how modern humans (Homo sapiens) viewed members of the cat family comes from cave art. Drawings of lions dating to 32,000 years ago were found in 1994 in a cave in Chauvet, France. Lion images carved from mammoth tusk ivory that were found in Vogelherd caves in Germany may be even older. Curiously, no lions shown in ice age art from Europe have manes, suggesting ancient European lions lacked this feature.

Images of these formidable predators may have had some spiritual or religious significance for early humans since lions were likely not hunted for food. Later cultures worshipped cats as powerful spirits or representatives of gods. The domestic cat and the lion represented the gods Bast and Sekhmet in ancient Egypt. The jaguar was an important deity or spirit to many Pre-Columbian peoples in the Americas, as was the lion among African peoples, and the tiger in parts of Asia.

B

Domestication, Hunting, and Captivity of Cats

The most important event in relations between humans and cats occurred around 12,000 to 10,000 years ago when a small wildcat began to associate with early human settlements in the Fertile Crescent region of the Middle East. As humans adopted agriculture, stored grain and other food products attracted rodents and other pests that became ready prey for the local wildcat Felis silvestris libyca.

Over time some of the wildcats gave up their more aggressive wild behavior to adapt to life alongside people. Humans found the cat a useful animal to control vermin and an enjoyable companion as a pet. DNA from living cats shows that all modern domestic cats around the world are descendants of five females of this wild Middle Eastern subspecies according to research published in 2007. Prior to this DNA study, many experts thought that cats were first domesticated in ancient Egypt around 2500 bc.

Other wild members of the cat family have been adopted as pets or kept in captivity for thousands of years. Royalty in Egypt, Persia, and India used cheetahs for hunting as a sport. In ancient Rome, gladiators fought lions and tigers in arena games. The Romans also used big cats and other wild animals to kill condemned prisoners in public spectacles. During the Middle Ages, royalty in Europe sometimes kept captive lions. Big cats have been symbols of royalty in many cultures: lions in Europe and in Africa, tigers in Asia, and jaguars in Central and South America.

Members of the cat family have long been hunted to protect livestock or human populations. Cats have also been hunted for sport and for the fur trade. The pelts of spotted cats such as leopards and ocelots have been particularly valued. Body parts from tigers, leopards, and other cats have been used in traditional medicine and in magic.

In the modern world, many types of cats are displayed at zoos or at wildlife farms. Trained lions and tigers perform in circuses or in stage shows. Some people keep wild cat species as exotic pets, often raising them from the cub stage. However, owners are sometimes forced to give up their pets when the animals are fully grown and become difficult to control or maintain. Special ranches have been established as sanctuaries to care for big cats once kept as pets or retired from zoos or circuses. More controversial are ranches where exotic cats can be hunted and killed for a fee. Also controversial are tiger farms in Asia that raise tigers to be slaughtered for body parts used in traditional medicine.

C

Scientific Study

Scientific study of cats in the wild has made major progress since the 1960s. At one time, cats had to be monitored visually in daylight, or they were captured and tagged, then recaptured. Radio-tracking of pumas, lions, leopards, and other large cats became widespread in the 1970s. An animal was usually darted with tranquillizers then fitted with a battery-powered radio-collar that would send out signals that could be used to track the cat’s movements remotely. Recently, links to global positioning system (GPS) satellites have provided much more precise information about the locations of radio-collared cats.

Other methods of studying cats in the wild include installing still-cameras on trails or paths used by cats. The camera photographs any passing animals. Light-intensifying and infrared motion-picture cameras allow researchers to study and record the night-time activities of cats without using spotlights. Some cats have even been fitted with special cameras called “crittercams” to record behavior from the cat’s point of view. Cells isolated from droppings (called scat) and shed hair can provide DNA and other genetic information, including how cats in a given area may be related to each other.

IX

Conservation Issues

Some members of the cat family are at a high risk of extinction in the wild and are listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). The most endangered cats include subspecies that have very small populations such as the Spanish lynx, the snow leopard, the Amur leopard, the Arabian leopard, the Asiatic cheetah, and the Asiatic lion. The puma subspecies in Florida known as the Florida panther is also highly endangered. Tigers are endangered in nearly all areas where they are found.

Other members of the cat family are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN, meaning they could be threatened with extinction in the future if conditions change. Leopards over much of their range, cheetahs in Africa, clouded leopards, and jaguars fall into this group, along with some species of smaller cats. The International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lists cats and cat-derived products that cannot be exported or require special permits.

Major threats to cats include loss of habitat from deforestation, and from expansion of farm lands and urban areas. Cats may lose their natural prey and be forced into smaller and smaller territories to find food and shelter, bringing them into contact with humans. Lions, leopards, and cheetahs that attack domestic animals can be shot legally in many African countries. Diseases such as distemper have been spread from domestic dogs living near parks in Africa to lions and other wild predators.

As populations fall, inbreeding and lack of genetic diversity can become a problem, making affected cat populations more susceptible to disease, infertility, and physical abnormalities. Illegal hunting or poaching for pelts, meat, and body parts also takes a heavy toll on some cats such as tigers and snow leopards.

Conservation groups devoted to saving cats include the Cat Specialist Group (CSG), the Small Cat Conservation Alliance, and the Cat Action Treasury (CAT), as well as the Cat Survival Trust, Project Tiger, and the International Snow Leopard Trust. Activities include establishing parks, reserves, and other protected areas for cats in the wild. Additional approaches include zoos and special facilities where endangered cats can be protected and bred in captivity. Conservationists and biologists have reintroduced some cat species such as the cheetah, the ocelot, and the lynx back into areas where they previously lived but had disappeared.

Scientific classification: Cats make up the family Felidae, of the order Carnivora. The tiger is classified as Panthera tigris, the lion as Panthera leo, the jaguar as Panthera onca, and the leopard as Panthera pardus. The mainland clouded leopard is classified as Neofelis nebulosa, and the cheetah as Acinonyx jubatus. The Canada lynx is classified as Lynx canadensis (formerly Felis lynx), and the bobcat as Lynx rufus. The ocelot is classified as Leopardus pardalis (formerly Felis pardalis), the pampas cat as Leopardus colocolo (formerly Felis colocolo), Geoffroy’s cat as Leopardus geoffroyi or Oncifelis geoffroyi (formerly Felis geoffroyi), the kodkod as Leopardus guigna (formerly Felis guigna), the little spotted cat or tigrina as Leopardus tigrinus (formerly Felis tigrina), the margay as Leopardus wiedii (formerly Felis wiedii), and the Andes mountain cat as Leopardus jacobita (formerly Felis jacobita). The puma is classified as Puma concolor (formerly Felis concolor) and the jaguarundi as Puma yaguarondi or Herpailurus yaguarondi (formerly Felis yaguarondi). The wildcat is classified as Felis silvestris and the domestic cat as Felis silvestris catus.

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Jaguar.

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Jaguar, largest and most powerful of the American members of the cat family. The jaguar is found from the southern United States to northern Argentina, but it is especially abundant in the dense forests of Central America and Brazil. A mature jaguar is 112 to 185 cm (44 to 73 in) long, not including the tail, which is 45 to 75 cm (18 to 30 in) in length, and stands 60 cm (2 ft) high at the shoulder. Its coat is a rich yellow to rusty-red, and occasionally black, spotted with large black rosettes, each consisting of a circle of spots surrounding a central spot. The head and body are massive, and the legs are relatively short and thick. An adept climber and an excellent swimmer, the animal feeds on a wide range of arboreal, terrestrial, and aquatic animals. Although feared, the jaguar rarely attacks humans. In the pre-Columbian civilizations of Peru and Central America, it was worshipped as a god. Today the jaguar is extensively hunted because of ranchers' claims that it attacks cattle, although studies indicate that such attacks are infrequent.

Jaguars appear to mate in any season, although in some areas they may mate seasonally. After a gestation period of 93 to 105 days, the female bears one to four cubs, which remain with the mother until about the age of two. Jaguars have lived up to 22 years in captivity.

Scientific classification: The jaguar belongs to the family Felidae. It is classified as Panthera onca.

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Cheetah.

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Cheetah, common name for a large cat, found mainly in Africa but with small populations in Iran, that has a similar body weight to the leopard (50 to 60 kg/110 to 130 lb) but has a longer body, much longer legs, and a smaller head. The head and body, without the tail, are about 1.1 to 1.5 m (3y to 5 ft) long, and the claws are short and lack the sheath that covers retracted claws in other cat species. The coat is yellowish-brown with black spots; cubs also have a spotted coat, but over the back and head is a mantle of long, silky, grey hair that remains for up to four months. Female cheetahs are solitary animals, except when with their cubs. Mature males generally travel alone or in groups of two to three males, often siblings, joining females only at mating time. The female cheetah’s pregnancy lasts three months. She gives birth to two to four cubs, which stay with her for between 13 and 20 months.

The body of the cheetah is adapted for taking prey by running rather than by leaping from ambush, as with the leopard, and the cheetah hunts by sight rather than by smell. Over short distances it is the fastest land-living animal that exists, being able to attain speeds up to about 110 km/h (68 mph). It hunts by day, feeding mainly on antelopes. The cheetah was formerly trained and used for hunting in Pakistan and India; it is now extinct or endangered in much of its range. In tropical Africa, where it lives on open plains, the cheetah is an endangered species. Wild cheetahs are highly inbred, as evidenced by the extreme lack of genetic variation in modern populations.

Scientific classification: The cheetah belongs to the family Felidae. It is classified as Acinonyx jubatus.

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Puma.

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Puma, also cougar, panther, or mountain lion, carnivore of the cat family from North and South America with thick fur that ranges from reddish-brown in tropical forms to bluish-grey in northern forms. It is lighter on the sides, and the muzzle, chin, throat, breast, and insides of the legs are whitish. The puma is found from British Columbia to Patagonia. Its body can be up to 1.95 m (6y ft) long, exclusive of its long tail. The head is relatively small, with a black spot above each eye. The female bears two to four young in a litter; the young have dark brown spots on the back, and the tail is ringed. Pumas hunt elks, deer, and smaller mammals. Because ranchers suspect them of killing cattle, the animals have been exterminated or are endangered in many areas.

Scientific classification: The puma belongs to the family Felidae. It is classified as Puma concolor.

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Ocelot.

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Ocelot
, mammal of the cat family found from Texas to Argentina. The ocelot, which somewhat resembles the domestic cat, attains a body length of about 55 to 100 cm (22 to 39 in) and a tail length of about 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 in). The back of the animal is tinted light yellow to reddish to grey and is marked with black stripes and spots. The belly is usually white, marked with black. Ocelots are good climbers and hunt in forests at night for their food, which consists of birds, fish, snakes, lizards, and small mammals. One to four kittens are produced in a litter. The animals have been hunted nearly to extinction for their pelts, and conversion of forest to agricultural land has also contributed to the decreased numbers of this species.

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Tiger.

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Tiger, largest member of the cat family. It lives in Asia and belongs to the same genus as the lion, leopard, and jaguar. Nine subspecies are recognized, three of which are now extinct. The modern tiger is thought to have originated in northern Asia during the Pleistocene epoch (1.8 million to 10,000 years ago) and spread southward thereafter, crossing the Himalaya only about 10,000 years ago.

II

Tiger Species and Subspecies

The Bengal (Indian) tiger, the male of which is about 3 m (10 ft) long, including the tail, and usually weighs 180 to 258 kg (397 to 569 lb), is found on the mainland of south-eastern Asia and in central and southern India. The female is between 2.4 and 2.7 m (8 and 9 ft) in length and weighs 100 to 160 kg (221 to 353 lb). The Bengal coat lies flatter than that of the Siberian (Amur) tiger (see below), the tawny colour is richer, and the stripes are darker. The Bengal tiger is the most numerous tiger subspecies, with an estimated 3,000 to 4,500 Bengal tigers living in the wild.

The Indochinese or Corbetts tiger is the second most numerous subspecies with approximately 1,200 to 1,800 individuals in the wild, although it seems likely that the true number is in the lower part of that range. It is smaller and slightly darker than the Bengal tiger. It has short, narrow stripes and large areas of white on its stomach, throat, cheeks, and the inside of its legs. From head to tail the male is approximately 2.7 m (9 ft), and weighs about 180 kg (397 lb), while the female is about 2.5 m (8 ft) in length and weighs 115 kg (254 lb). The Indochinese tiger is found in Cambodia, southern China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the northern Malay Peninsula.

Until 2004, the Malayan tiger, which is only found in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, was considered part of the Indochinese subspecies. However, a genetic study of tiger DNA confirmed that it was a separate subspecies. It is estimated that there are between 600 and 800 Malayan tigers in the wild; its physical characteristics are effectively those of the Indochinese tiger.

The Siberian tiger measures 1.4 to 2.8 m (4y to 9 ft) long, not including the tail which is 69 to 95 cm (27 to 37 in) in length, and this big cat weighs 180 to 306 kg (400 to 675 lb). It has thick yellow fur with dark stripes. The exceptionally cold winter of 2001 in Siberia reduced the numbers of reindeer and wild boar, the staple diet for Siberian tigers. This caused many of the usually very shy and remote tigers to search for food closer to inhabited areas, where they are at increased risk from poachers. There are approximately 400 Siberian tigers left in the wild.

The tigers on Sumatra are as scarce as the Siberian tiger. The Sumatran tiger is the smallest and darkest tiger, measuring about 2.2 to 2.5 m (7 to 8 ft) in length and weighing between 100 and 140 kg (221 to 309 lb). Like other tiger subspecies the female is usually smaller than the male, about 2.2 to 2.3 m (7 ft) in length and weighing approximately 75 to 110 kg (165 to 243 lb). There is some DNA analysis evidence that the Sumatran tiger is a separate species (rather than a subspecies) of tiger due to its isolation on the island of Sumatra some 12,000 years ago, where it would have evolved separately. It is estimated that there are between 400 and 500 Sumatran tigers left in the wild.

The existence of the South China (Amoy) tiger in the wild is based on patchy evidence rather than recent sightings, and it is feared that this rarest subspecies faces imminent extinction; their numbers are estimated at between 20 and 30 tigers. From head to tail males are about 2.3 to 2.6 m (7y to 8y ft) in length and weigh between 130 and 175 kg (287 and 386 lb), while females measure 2.2 to 2.4 m (7 to 8 ft) and weigh 100 to 115 kg (221 to 254 lb).

III

Behaviour

The tiger is a solitary animal, males and females coming together only at mating time, to share a kill, or to drink and rest at watering holes in areas with limited water. Tigers are very good swimmers, often taking to the water to cool off. The litter numbers one to six cubs, which are helpless when born and stay with the mother into their second year. Only one or two of the cubs survive the first two years of life.

The diet is varied, ranging from deer and cattle to frogs and fish; carrion is also eaten. Tigers hunt at night, stalking their prey before they pounce. They use their sharp retractable claws to grasp their quarry and their strong teeth to deliver a fatal bite to the neck.

The Bengal tiger inhabits grassy or swampy areas and forests, where it is well camouflaged by its coloration. Tigers are territorial and the male's large territory often includes the territories of two or more females.

The tiger is an endangered species. The Bali, Caspian, and Javan tigers are believed to be extinct and the other subspecies are restricted mainly to reserves in south-eastern Asia and India. Their numbers have dwindled because of heavy human predation—they are hunted for their skin and certain bones (thought to have healing powers in Chinese medicine)—and habitat destruction. The estimated population of tigers in the wild ranges from about 4,500 to just over 7,000. Their numbers were estimated at about 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century.

Scientific classification: Tigers belong to the family Felidae and are classified as Panthera tigris. The Bengal tiger is classified as Panthera tigris tigris; the Siberian tiger subspecies as Panthera tigris altaic; the Indochinese or Corbetts tiger is Panthera tigris corbetti; the Malayan tiger is Panthera tigris malayensis; the Sumatran tiger is Panthera tigris sumatrae; and the South China tiger is classified as Panthera tigris amoyensis. The Bali tiger (Panthera tigris balica), Caspian tiger (Panthera tigris virgata), and Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) probably became extinct in the 1930s, 1950s, and 1970s respectively.

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