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Thispresentationaimstoteachyouaboutbigcats.Whiletraditionallythis
definitiononlyincludesthefourlargestlivingwildcats,wehaveexpanded
onthislist.
Thispresentationhasthefollowingstructure:
Slide1- WhatisaBigCat?
Slide2- Tiger
Slide3- Lion
Slide4- Jaguar
Slide5- Leopard
Slide6- Cheetah
Slide7 - Puma,CougarandMountainLion
Slide8 - Lynx
Slide9- BigCatFacts
Slide10- AustralianCurriculumMapping
BIG CATS
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BIG CATS
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WhatisaBigCat?
TherearefivespeciesinthePanthera genus,andthefourlargestonesare
consideredtobe“bigcats.”Thetigeristhelargest,followedinorderof
sizebythelion,jaguar,andleopard.Thesefouraretheonlycatswiththe
abilitytoroar.ThesnowleopardisthefifthmemberofthePanthera
genus,butitcannotroar.
Theabilitytoroarcomesfromhavinganelongatedlarynxandafloating
hyoidboneintheneck.Thelongerthelarynx,thestrongertheroar.
Amongthesefourbigcats,thelionhasthelongestlarynx,soithasthe
loudestroar.
Otherspeciesaresometimesincludedonthelistofbigcats,althoughthey
cannotroar.Thesearethecheetah,puma,cougar,mountainlion,andlynx.
BigcatsofonespeciesoranothercanbefoundinNorthAmerica,South
America,Africa,Europe,andAsia.
Likeallcats(includingthedomesticcatsthatpeoplekeepaspets),bigcats
arecarnivores.Bigcatsareapexpredatorsintheirecosystems.Themain
threatstobigcatpopulationsarehabitdestruction,hunting,andtheloss
oftheirpreypopulations.
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Tiger
Manypeoplebelievelionstobethelargestofthebigcats.However,tigers
arethelargestofthebigcat.Whilelionscanbetallerandlonger,tigersfar
surpasslionsinweightandmass.Theaverageweightoftigersinthe20th
centurywasbetween180and306 kgformalesand100and167 kgfor
females.However,largetigersweretargetedandshotbyhunters.Today,a
maleSiberiantigertypicallyweighsbetween160and180kgwhilethe
femaleSiberiantigerweighsbetween110and140kg.
Atiger’sdietisanopportunisticoneandcanincludebirds,fish,rodents,
insects,reptiles,andpreymuchlargerthanthemselves,suchaselephants
andrhinos.Availabilityofsufficientpreyiscriticaltothesurvivalofthe
tiger,whichneedstokill50to60largepreyperyear.
NativetoAsia,tigersareresponsibleformorehumandeathsthanany
othercat.TheBengaltigerhasproventobeparticularlylethaltohumans,
mostlyduetohumanencroachmentontheirhabitat.Tigershavenow
disappearedfromsouthwestandcentralAsiaaswellastwoIndonesian
islands.Theycurrentlyinhabitlessthansixpercentoftheiroriginalrange.
ThelargestnumberoftigerstodayisintheUnitedStates,livingin
captivity.Inadditiontohabitatloss,poachingfortheillegalanimaltradeis
oneofthegreatestthreatstothetiger.
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Lion
Thelion’smane(thelonghairaroundtheirheads)isoneofthemost
distinctivefeaturesoftheadultmalelion.Suchgenderfeaturesarerare
amongmammals.Theaverageadultmalelionis1.4to2metersfromnose
torump,withatailingmeasuring67to100cm.Itgenerallyweighs120-
191kg.
NativetoAfricaandpartsofIndia,lionsareverysocialanimals.Their
familyor“pride”structureissimilartothatofcanines,whicharepack
animals,ratherthanfelines,whichtendtobesolitary.Thepridehunts
togetherandshareinthenurtureandcareoftheircubs,evennursing
eachother’syoung.Apridecanconsistofasmanyas30relatedfemales,
guardedbytwoorthreemales.Femalelionsdothe“lion’sshare”oftheir
pack’shuntingbecausetheyaresmallerandagilerthanmales.Theycan
huntsolobutoftenhuntingroups,usuallyatnight.Theirpreferredprey
includezebras,rhinos,hippos,giraffesandbuffalo,buttheyalsoeat
smallerpreysuchasmice,birdsandlizards.Thelionpopulationhasbeen
decliningatanalarmingrate.Intwodecades,Africa’slionpopulationhas
decreasedby43percent.Anestimated23,000lionsremaininthewild.
Humanactivityincludingsettlement,landdevelopment,andagriculture
arethemainthreatstothelion.
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Jaguar
Thejaguarisoftenconfusedwiththeleopard;however,thejaguaris
stockierwithshorterlegsandtail,alargerhead,andmuchmorepowerful
paws.Adultmalejaguarscanreachalengthof2metersandcanweigh
from68to90kg.Jaguarscanbefoundinrainforests,savannahs,and
swamps,ofteninthevicinityoffreshwater,astheyareexcellent
swimmers.Jaguarswillhuntalmostanyavailableprey.However,they
favour wildpigsandrodents.Theyarealsoknowntoeatdeer,crocodiles,
snakes,monkeys,andturtles.
JaguarsoncewerefoundintheUnitedStatesbutwerehuntedto
extinctioninthe1940s.TherearestilljaguarsinLatinAmerica,but
deforestationisamajorthreattotheirsurvival.Farmersandranchers
oftenshootjaguarsonsighttopreventthemfrompreyingoncattleand
otherlivestock.
Thejaguarisfullyprotectedatthenationallevelacrossmostofitsrange,
withhuntingprohibitedinArgentina,Brazil,Colombia,CostaRica,French
Guiana,Honduras,Mexico,Nicaragua,Panama,Paraguay,Suriname,
UnitedStates,andVenezuela,andhuntingrestrictionsareinplacein
GuatemalaandPeru.Specificconservationplansforthespecieshavebeen
developedinBrazil,Honduras,MexicoandPanama.
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Leopard
Althoughtheyarethesmallestofthebigcats,leopardsareconsideredone
ofthestrongestandmostagile.Theycancarryheavypreyoverlong
distancesandeasilyclimbtreestorestinthebranches.Theyhaveeven
beenknowntocarrypreyupintoatreetoprotecttheirfoodfromother
predators.Leopardsarealsoextremelyfast.Theycanrunupto58kmper
hour.Theirpowerfullegscanpropelthemforwardinleapsofupto6
metersmeasuredhorizontally.Likejaguars,theyarealsoexcellent
swimmers.
Leopardsaresolitaryanimalsandarehardtotrackorfindinthewild,
primarilyduetotheirabilitytosurviveinawidevarietyofhabitats.The
Himalayansnowleopardisprobablythebestexampleoftheelusivenessof
thisbigcat.
Theabilitytoclimbtreeswitheaseisnottheonlythingleopardshavein
commonwithdomesticatedcats– theygrowlwhenangryandpurrwhen
content.
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Cheetah
Thecheetah’snamecomesfromtheHindiword“chita,”whichmeans
“spottedone.”Cheetahshavebetween2,000to3,000spotsthatserveas
camouflage.
Withlong,slenderlegsandalongtail,cheetahsarethefastestlandanimal
intheworld,reachingspeedsofupto113km/hour.Theycangofrom0to
100km/hourinonly3seconds.However,theycanmaintaintopspeedfor
onlyabout400meters.Acheetah’srespiratoryrateandbodytemperature
risesharplywhenrunningfastandcancausetheanimaltocollapseifthey
gettoohigh.Thecheetahisapursuithunter,andapproximatelyhalfofa
cheetah’spreymanagetogetawaywhentheirpursueroverheats.
Thecheetah’shabitatsincludeopengrasslands,savannahs,dense
vegetationand,sometimesmountainousterrain.Namibiaishometothe
largestcheetahpopulation.Becauseoflanddevelopment,95percentof
thecheetahsinNamibialiveoncultivatedland,whichexposesthemtothe
riskofbeingshotbyfarmersorranchers.Thecheetahisasolitaryanimal
thatmarksitsterritorybyurinating,primarilytowarnoffothercheetahs.
Cheetahscommunicatethroughavarietyofvocalisations includingpurrs,
barks,growls,hissesandahighpitchedchirpingsound.
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Puma,CougarandMountainLion
Cougars,alsoknownasmountainlionsandpumas,arethelargestcatin
thegenus“felis.”ThecougarisnativetotheUnitedStatesandfoundin
Washington,inthePacificNorthwest.Thecougar’sgeographicrange
stretchesfromnorthwesternCanadatoPatagoniaandSouthAmerica. An
estimated2,500cougarsliveinthisarea,andtheirnumbersaregrowing.
Theadultmalemountainlioncanweighupto90kgandadultfemalesup
to60kg.Theyhavealongbodywithasmallhead,shortface,andvery
longneckandtail.Theirearsareroundandshort.Theircolour istypically
evenlygreyorreddishtanandwhitemuzzleandchest.
Cougarsarepredatorycarnivores.Theyareextremelygoodathidingand
areveryrarelyseeninthewild.Theyhuntdayandnight,andtheirprimary
preyisdeer.
Cougarscannotroar,buttheycanjumpasfaras5.4metersfromasitting
position.
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Lynx
Thefourspeciesbelongingtothelynxgenusarethe:Spanish,Canadian,
Eurasian,andbobcat.Despitetheircommonnames,thedesertorAfrican
lynx(orcaracal)andtheswamplynx(alsocalledjunglecat)arenot
membersofthelynxgenus.
LynxcanbefoundinAsia,Europe,andNorthAmerica;however,the
populationisthreatenedinsomeareasduetopoaching.
Lynxarebeautifulanimals,withthickfurandavariationofcolours
dependingontheseason.Theycanrangefromlightbrowninsummerto
greyinthewinter.
Lynxhaveextremelysharpvisionandcandetectamouseasfarawayas60
meters.Theyarecarnivoresandprimarilyhuntsnowshoehare,mice,
squirrels,andbirds.Largerspeciesoflynxsometimeshuntbiggerprey,
suchasdeer.
Lynxaresolitaryandelusiveanimals,onlygatheringtogetherduringthe
matingseason.Theycansurviveupto14yearsinthewild.
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BigCatFacts
• ThenumberoftigersincaptivityinChinanowfaroutweighsthe
numberinthewildbecausetheyarebeingbredtomakeTigerBone
wine;
• Malelionslosetheirmanewhenneutered;
• Likedomesticatedcats,bigcatsareattractedtocatnip;
• TheSiberiantigerisconsideredthemostpatientpredatorandalsothe
mostbrutal;
• In2005,anEthiopiangirlwhohadbeenkidnappedandbeatenby
sevenmenwasrescuedbyaprideoflionsthatchasedthemenoffand
stayedtoprotectheruntilhelparrived;
• IntheSundarban TigerReserveofBengal,peoplewearmasksonthe
backoftheirheadsbecausetigersonlyattackfrombehind;
• In18th-centuryEngland,ifyouwantedtovisitazoo,thepriceof
admissionwasadogoracat,whichwouldbefedtothelions;
• Cheetahsonlyneedtodrinkwatereverythreeorfourdays;
• Jaguarscanbitedownwithapproximately907kgofforce.Among
mammals,onlythehyenahasastrongerbite;
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AustralianCurriculumMapping
GRADE5SCIENCE(ACSSU043):Livingthingshavestructuralfeaturesand
adaptationsthathelpthemtosurviveintheirenvironment.
GRADE6SCIENCE(ACSSU094):Thegrowthandsurvivaloflivingthingsare
affectedbythephysicalconditionsoftheirenvironment.
YEAR7SCIENCE(ACSSU112):Interactionsbetweenorganisms,including
theeffectsofhumanactivitiescanberepresentedbyfoodchainsandfood
webs.
YEAR9SCIENCE(ACSSU176):Ecosystemsconsistofcommunitiesof
interdependentorganismsandabioticcomponentsof
the environment; matter andenergyflowthroughthesesystems.
YEAR10:SCIENCE(ACHGK070):Human-inducedenvironmentalchanges
thatchallengesustainability.
SUSTAINABILITY(01.9):Sustainablefuturesresultfromactionsdesignedto
preserveand/orrestorethequalityanduniquenessofenvironments.
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FORMOREINFORMATION,pleasevisitwww.mygreenworld.org oremail
[email protected] togetintouchwithus.
Downloadourmobilegameapp,WorldoftheWild,andseehowyoucan
participateinvirtualwildlifeconservation.