This week I decided to learn all about The Big 5 Cats. I could not decided what one cat do do my animal report on so I did one on each big cat and added them together to make this report. I hope you enjoy learning all about The Big 5 Cats.
Thursday Animal Report Writing
LI: Choose another animal, research facts and write an animal report on it.
My animal is not just one animal but a group of animals called The big 5 cats. They include a leopard, lion, tiger, cheetah and puma. They are the most dangerous wild cats in the world. They all fit into the Felidae family. They look fierce and majestic when in pictures together, there is no wild pictures of them all together because they live in different parts of the world. Some of them live side by side in South Africa but others like the tiger lives in Asia. They are all in threat of extinction and their numbers are decreasing worldwide because of humans. Humans hunt them for their fur and are also destroying their habitats by building cities where the cats are. A lot of zoos and wildlife parks have the big cats to try and help them not become extinct completely by having breeding programmes. There is also organisations that protect the areas that the cats live in and also to stop poachers to allow them the chance to breed and increasing their numbers.
The Siberian tiger has fur of a Red-brown or rusty yellow with narrow dark brown or black stripes. Their chest and underneath is white. They are the largest of the tiger family with a length of 150-208cm, and weigh 200-300kg. The siberian tiger eats other animals including bears but mainly elks and boars. Siberian tigers live in fairly cold climates in forests, flatlands and low mountain ranges in Russia, North Korea and China. Tigers are not only hunted for fur but also to use in traditional chinese medicine. Bears have also been known to kill them if a tiger's attack on the bear goes wrong. Siberian tigers live for around 15 years and spend their time alone other than for mating or to look after young. The Siberian Tigers are critically endangered. There is less than 500 of them in the wild.
A Lion has a Strong compact powerful body with a yellow or golden coat. Male adults have reddish-brown to black manes. The length and colour of its mane depends on the age, genetics and hormones of the lion. Male lions are 5.6 - 8.3 feet and 330-570 pound and female lions are 4.6 - 5.7 feet and 270-400 pound. A lion will eat any animal with meat fresh or a few days old. Lions live in East and South Africa in the sub-savannah plains. Lions have no natural predators the only threat to them are humans poaching them and destroying the habitat. Lions are the Most social of big cats living in groups called packs. Lions are listed as vulnerable and there are around 20,000 in the wild.
A puma is also known as a Cougar or mountain lion. A puma has a ttan or slightly yellow coat with a lighter underside.
They have a round face, long tail and ears that stick up. The colour varies from grey to reddish brown and some black have been reported, the colour of them can change depending where they live and the seasons. A male Puma is 6-8 feet and 110-180 pound
And females are 5-7 feet and 80-130 pound. Pumas living near the equator have smaller ears than those living in the North and South. Pumas are found in desert scrub, chaparral, swamp and forest areas from Southeast Alaska to South Argentina and Chile. Due to the climate they live in they mainly eat hoofed mammals like deer but also will eat rabbits, raccoons, bevers and coyotes. The only predator that they have are humans. A Puma is vulnerable on the endangered list.
A cheetah is a slender , long legged cat with blunt semi retractable claws. It has yellow or tan short fur with black solid round or oval spots with unmarked white throat and belly. It's spots are used to camouflage them. A cheetah is around 30 inch tall and 44-56 inch long with a tail length of 26-33 inch. Males are smaller than female Cheetahs. They are carnivores and eat a range of small to medium sized animals like spring box, impalas, birds, rabbits and small boar. Cheaters have become extinct in most places other than the African savannah. They are vulnerable due to the loss of habitat and limited genetic diversity. The cheetah is the fastest living land mammal and can reach zero - 45mph in 2.5 seconds allowing them to run to a speed of 60-70 mph or 69-112km.
The leopard is the smallest of the large cats. They are 17.5-30.5 inch tall and females weigh 46-132 pounds and a male 80-165 pound. They live up to 23 years. Leopards live in both cold and warm climates. They are tawny or light yellow in colour, and in warmer climates are darker orange-red, or orange in colour in dense forest. A leopard's coat is covered with dark irregular spots called Rosettes. They live in forest, subtropical and tropical regions, savannah desert, grasslands and rocky mountains. The countries you will find leopards in are Africa, Middle East, Asia, China, Inda, East Russia. Humans are their main threat but Lions, hyenas or painted dogs will hunt them in Africa and Tigers in Asia. Leopards are nocturnal so will only hunt at night whereas the other big cats will hunt any time of the day. A leopard can run to 36mph and can leap 20 feet in one jump. Unlike most cats leopards are strong swimmers. Leopards are known for their climbing ability and they use this to their advantage to carry food into the trees away from other animals. A really interesting fact about leopards is that their rosettes change in shape depending where the leopard lives. They are circular in Eastern Africa leopards and square in South African leopards.
I can not pick one favorite as I like all of the Big 5 Cats. I like tigers because they are so big and look so cool. I like Lions because they are so fierce. I like leopards because they can climb trees. I like cheetahs because they are the fastest land mammals. I like Pumas as they remind me of house cats because of their ears.
I hope that over time the numbers will increase and humans will stop hunting them so that they are no longer under threat of extinction. Please humans stop before it is too late and these animals join the fully extinct list.
No comments:
Post a Comment