Jaguar Fun Facts
- Jaguars weigh 200-250 pounds with a body length of 5-7 feet.
- Jaguars are the largest cats living in the wild in North and South America—and 3rd largest cat, after lions and tigers.
- Jaguars can live up to 25 years in captivity. In the wild the jaguar’s average lifespan is 12-15 years.
- The name jaguar means, “A wild beast that can kill its prey with a single bound.”
- Jaguars kill with either a bite to the neck or a crushing paw strike.
- Jaguars are nocturnal predators.
- Jaguars are solitary animals.
- The Aztecs and Mayans worshiped jaguars.
- Jaguars and leopards are very similar.
Leopard Fun Facts
- Leopards weigh 70-180 pounds with a body length of 4-6 feet.
- Leopards are strong tree climbers—they can even climb a tree while carrying a prey their own weight. Leopards often carry their prey up trees to prevent other animals, such as hyenas, from sharing their kill. They also store their food in trees (though sometimes they store their food on ground under leaves or brush).
- Leopards hunt on land and in water—they are great swimmers.
- Leopards are nocturnal predators.
- Leopards are solitary animals.
- Leopards stalk their prey until they are a few feet away and pounce the prey—they do not usually miss. If they do miss, then the prey is lucky since the leopard does not normally chase its prey.
- Cubs stay with their mother for 22 months.
Differences between Jaguars and Leopards
- Both jaguars and leopards have very similar skin; however, the minor distinction is the jaguar skin’s rosettes are larger than the leopard’s. (See photos below.)
- Jaguars are more mascular and weigh more than the leopards.
- Jaguar’s head is more square and larger than the leopard’s head.
Lion Fun Facts
The King of the Jungle!
The Pride
- A group of lions is called pride. Lions are the most social cats; each pride could include up to 40 lions.
- Each pride includes one or two males (sometimes more) and several females.
- Females are usually the ones that hunt for food. They rely on group work to hunt zebras, antelopes, wildebeests, and other animals.
- Males guard the pride’s territory, a distance that often stretches to about 100 square miles.
- Adult males in the pride drive away young maturing males. These males leave their pride and search for other prides that they could take over by defeating other males and killing or chasing away all male cubs. This cycle of new male lions chasing off other male lions and taking over a pride occurs often to any pride. A male lion should not expect to remain a leader in his pride for more than 2-4 years.
- Young females normally stay with their pride.
Cubs
- A lioness can give birth to a litter of 1-3 cubs (sometimes more) every 2 years.
- Cubs nurse for about 6 months. However, they start eating meat at 3 months old.
- In the wild, about 3/4th of cubs do not live to become adults. They die mainly from lack of food or attacks by other animals (including other lions that are not part of the pride).
“It’s a Guy Thing—Testosterone!”
Male lions are the ones with manes. The mane is their male pride. Studies have found that lions with longer and darker manes are more feared and respected by other male lions and have higher level of testosterone. Darker manes indicate healthier lions.
General Lion Fun Facts
- A lion’s roar can be heard 5 miles away.
- Male lions usually weigh over 400 pounds; female normally stay below 300 pounds.
- Lions in captivity live twice as long as those in the wild (25-30 years in captivity; 15 in the wild).
- Thieves! Lions often steal hyenas’ or other animals’ kills. However, a large group of hyenas can sometimes steal a lion’s kill.
- Each adult lion needs 10-15 pounds of meat every day.
Tiger Fun Facts
Endangered Species
there were about 5,000 tigers left in the wild.
There are a few species of tigers still alive: Begal, Indochina, Malayan, Siberian (Amur), South China, and Sumatran. There are three extinct species of tigers: Caspian, Javan, and Bali.
Weight
The Siberian tiger is the largest cat: males can reach over 650 lbs. (8-10 feet long), but females stay under 400 lbs (about 8 feet long).
The heaviest tiger on record (a Serbian tiger) weighed 1,025 lbs.
Tiger for a pet?
In the US, there are about 10,000 pet tigers. These pet tigers are responsible for the killing of 2 people each year. Pet tigers must be supplied with 10 to 20 pounds of raw meat each day. Some eat up to 60 pounds of meat for one meal.
More Tiger Facts
- Tiger’s skin and hair are both striped.
- Celebrate Tiger Day: the last Sunday of September.
- One can hear a tiger roar from a mile away.
- Tigers can see in the dark 6 times better than humans.
Bear Fun Facts
- Bears kill 6 people worldwide every year.
- Bears can run at a speed of 40 mph.
Grizzle or Brown Bears
- Grizzle bears can run at a speed of 30 mph.
- Grizzle bears hibernate 4-7 months.
- A hibernating bear’s heart beat drops to 8 beats every minute (normal is 40 beats/minute).
- Convenient Motherhood: A pregnant grizzly bear that goes into hibernation delivers its cub (sometimes up to 3 cubs) while in hibernation. The mother bear does not wake up. The tiny cub knows to nurse from its mother the first few months until spring, when mother bear wakes up! Cubs nurse for the first year, but stay with their mother for three years.
- Female grizzle bears weigh about ½ the male weight (females, 350 pounds; males, 700 pounds).
- 98% of the grizzle-bear population in the US lives in Alaska.
Polar Bears
- Polar bears can swim 100 miles without rest.
- Polar Bears’ main diet is seals.
- Polar bears have the ability to smell seals about 20 miles away.
- Pregnant polar bears stay in dens during winter time; during this time they give birth and nurse their cub(s).
- A mother polar bear nurses its cubs for 2 and ½ years.
- A male polar bear can weigh over 1,500 pounds, though most weigh below 1,000 pounds. A female polar bear weighs about 500 pounds.
- Polar bears are left handed.
Bobcat Fun Facts
Bobcats received their name because of their short tails that “bob.”
Bobcats are 2 to 3 1/2 feet long, weighing 15-30 lbs—only twice as big as a house cat.
Wildcats are bobcats.
Bobcat is grouped with other four medium-sized cats as part of the lynx family. The Canada lynx, Eurasian lynx, Iberian lynx, and bobcats.
Bobcats are different from the other lynxes in that lynxes normally have no stripes, only spots; bobcats have both. Also a lynx’s ears have longer tufts (except the Canada lynx); a bobcat’s ears have small tufts..
Bobcats are great hunters. They sneak up on their prey and can leap 10 feet to get their prey.
Cougar Fun Facts
Other names: cougars are also called pumas, mountain lions, panthers, and many more. The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes the cougar as the animal with the most names.
Male cougars are 4 to 6 feet long (not including their tails that are about 2 feet long), weighing 150-230 pounds.
Female cougars are 3-5 feet long, weighing 75-135 pounds.
Cougars live about 20 years in captivity, and about 15 in the wild.
Not a social creature: Cougars remain in solitude establishing their own territory and fighting other cougars or big cats that come to their territory. The only exception is during mating season when a male cougar allows a female cougar to live in his territory.
Purrrr! Cougars purr! They are actually the largest cat that purrs.
Cougars are on the endangered-species list.
Cougars Can Jump
Cougars are very muscular and great jumpers:
- Cougars can leap up about 15 feet or higher and forward about 40 feet or more, which means they are capable of jumping over busses, RVs, and small houses.
- Their back legs are longer than their front legs giving them more power to leap.
Chimpanzee Fun Facts
Chimps and humans share about 98% of their gene.
Female chimps weigh about 100 pounds, males about 150.
Chimps are 7 times stronger than men.
Chimpanzees live in communities of up to 150 members. Usually there is a male leader.
Chimps live about 50-60 years.
A Certain Level of Inteligence
Chimps use tools: a rock to crack a nut, a twig to fan flies away, a stick to dig mounds of termites and ants.
Gender Difference
Girl chimpanzees learn much faster than boy chimpanzees. At Gombe National Park, Tanzania, researchers watched mother chimpanzees as they taught their offspring how to fish for termites. Girls were able to fish around age 2 and ½. Boys, who wasted time playing, did not learn until past age 4.
Gorilla Fun Facts
Adult male gorillas’ weight can reach 600 lbs; its average weight is 400-500 lbs. Females weigh about 200-300 pounds.
Gorillas usually do not sleep in the same nest for more than one night.
An adult gorilla’s brain weighs twenty ounces.
Social Group
Gorillas live in social groups (about 5-9 members) with leadership positions. Each group has a male leader (known as silverback) along with his females and offspring; also usually there is one lead female among the harems.
Baby Gorillas
Gorilla mothers hold on to their new born and take care of it 24/7 for the first few months.
Gorilla babies start walking at about 5 months.
Baby gorillas nurse for up to three years.
Similar to Humans
Human birth control pills work also on gorillas.
Gorillas have the same gestation time as humans, 9 months.
Gorillas use vocalizations, gestures, and body language to communicate with each other.
