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*Siberian tigers are the world's largest cats. They
can weigh up to 700 pounds!
*They live primarily in eastern Russia's birch forests, but some do live
in
China and North Korea
*There are an estimated 400-500 Siberian tigers living in the wild
*Tigers are
the largest of all wild cats and are renowned for their power and strength
*There are 5 remaining subspecies
of tigers and all are endangered
*Tigers are hunted as trophies and also for body parts that are used in traditional
Chinese medicine
*Tigers live alone
*They are powerful hunters and travel many miles to find their prey,
such as wild boar and elk
*Females give birth to litters of two to six cubs, which they raise
with little or no help from the male
*Despite their fearsome reputation, most tigers avoid humans
*Stripes
identify the tiger like a fingerprint identifies a human, and they are all different
*In low light a tiger can
see 6 times more clearly that a human can see
*Soft pads on the bottom of a tiger's paws muffle the sound of
it's feet when it walks
*The tiger has the largest upper canine teeth of all the big cats and are generally
about
3 inches long (around the same size of the middle finger of an adult person)
*A tiger can eat as much
as 75 pounds of meat at one time
*A tiger's roar can be heard for up to 2 miles!
*Lynxes are solitary animals who hunt at night using their
sense of smell and keen eyesight
*They are tireless walkers, although they rarely ever run
*They swim
well and their broad feet are excellent snow shoes in the winter
*The name Lynx comes from the Greek word "to
shine", possibly in reference to the reflective ability of the cat's eyes
*They are often confused with
their smaller cousins, the Bobcat
*The tips of their tails look like they've been dipped into ink
*Lynxes live in Asia, Europe and former USSR
*They live up to around 17 years in the wild and 24 years in captivity
*They can reach up to 80 pounds
*Male African lions weigh between 330 and 550 lbs., while female lions weigh
from 265-395 lbs.
*The male has a mane that can be light tawny in color to jet black and it is his protection during
a fight
*Their roar is usually heard at sundown, after a killing and after eating
*In the wild, lions
are very sociable, living and hunting in groups (their group --or "pride"--may number up to 35 members)
*Female lions do most of the hunting
*The primary roles of the males are breeding and protection of the pride
*Pound for pound the Leopard is probably the most evolved predator
cat on earth
*Some say they are the most aggressive and feared animal in the world
*They are extremely
secretive and solitary animals, only coming together to mate
*They are supreme tree climbers
*They prefer
to remain hidden during daylight hours
*They live throughout Asia and Africa
*The leopard is the 4th
largest of the "big cats" in the world (only jaguars, lions and tigers are larger)
*For it's size
the leopard is the most powerful feline in the world
*Leopards are infamous for their ability to go undetected
*Although most leopards will tend to avoid humans, people are occasionally targeted as prey
*Bobcats live primarily is broken forests and scrubby country, but adapt to swamps,
farmlands and arid lands if they are rocky or brushy
*They are native to North America
*They have prominent,
pointed ears with short tufts of black hair at the tip
*The adult male weighs from 16-45 pounds
*They
hunt anything from insects and small rodents to large deer, but often prefer rabbits and hares
*They have a stubby
6 inch tail which has a "bobbed" appearance--this gives the species its name
*They will swim if they
have to, but they usually avoid water
*Bobcats are generally most active during twilight
*Man is the
bobcat's only major predator
*The graceful cougar is the grand champion jumper of all cats
*The
common name of the cougar is "Mountain Lion", but they are also
known of as the Puma, Florida Panther and
the Catamount
*The cougar is very territorial and must have a large area to hunt
*They are solitary
animals who avoid their own kind, except at mating season
*Cougars are native to Washington state, but range from
the northern parts of Canada to the tip of South America
*Adult males weigh up to 200 pounds and the females weigh
up to 120 pounds
*Serval cats look
like miniature cheetahs
*They are medium-sized, elegant looking cats with long legs, a small head, and big ears
*They can hear rodents from up to 100 yards
*Adult servals weigh between 18 and 24 pounds on average
*The Serval can supposedly hear the motion of a rodent as far as 20 feet away in the tall grasses of it's natural
environment
*The Serval makes a distinctive sound calling out what can be described as
a (HOW-HOW-HOW!)
*These cats were kept by the Egyptians--this is reflected in much of their artwork
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