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World of Animals Book of Big Cats and African Wildlife February 25th, 2015 Digital Back Issue Cover

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24 Articles

Tiger conservation

Why help tigers over all the other endangered animals on the planet? I like to think that by protecting wild tigers, we are protecting whole swathes of forest and all the other plants and animals that live alongside them. The tiger is such an iconic animal – it’s one of the first that a child learning to identify animals will remember. Those stripes are imprinted in our minds and have been for centuries. That is why they have inspired countless artists and writers across many different cultures and why tigers are vitally important to save. What are the biggest threats that tigers face today? Humans are the biggest threat to the tiger’s survival. Deforestation is being driven by our demand for food, timber and paper. Tigers are poached to satisfy the desire of…

Tiger conservation

All about The African lion

Inside a lion Lions are specialised killing machines. They have free-floating shoulder blades, switchblade-like claws that can be unsheathed from their paws and huge jaw muscles that allow them to clamp their prey and suffocate it “As they approach their prey, they run, pounce and grab it around the neck with their jaws” Closest family Closely related to the lion are… Leopard The smallest of the big cats, but what the leopard lacks in size, it makes up in speed and agility. Leopards can reach 58km/h (36mph) and have strong jaw muscles. Jaguar The jaguar is the only member of the Panthera genus found in the Americas. Black jaguars as well as black leopards are commonly known as ‘black panthers’. Tiger The largest cat species, the tiger can be found in territories in Siberia, India and Southeast Asia. Their stripes…

All about The African lion

Endangered Asiatic lion

Asiatic lions once roamed across Asia, Southern Europe and the Middle East, but hunting and drought during the 19th Century left these big cats close to extinction. They are now restricted to a tiny forest region of the Gujarat State in India, but thanks to 50 years of conservation efforts, the population has been significantly boosted, and in 2010 there were just over 400 living in the wild. However, as they outgrow their refuge in the Gir Forest, they are increasingly coming into conflict with humans. The causes of extinction Hunting and poaching The original decline of Asiatic lions has been liked to the spread of firearms across Europe and Asia. The lions were hunted for sport until the practice was banned in the early 20th Century. Today, Asiatic lions are still stalked…

Endangered Asiatic lion

Evolution of the Lion

Evolutionary pressure Legs When Panthera leo left the tree canopies, it first adapted to run and eventually jump over ten metres (32 feet). Appearance The lion evolved without spots for better camouflage, so now only vestigial faint markings remain, more visible on cubs. Predators Lions have increased in size and strength to become the most dominant hunters in their natural habitat. Lionesses As male lions increased in size, smaller and quicker lionesses became the main hunters of the pride. “The first subspecies of lion known, Panthera leo fossilis, was slightly larger than its modernday descendants” What is the evidence? A host of historic subspecies and feline forbears have led to the modern-day big cat There were several prehistoric subspecies of Panthera leo, now all extinct. The first subspecies of lion known, Panthera leo fossilis, was slightly larger than its modern-day descendants. The…

Evolution of the Lion

CONSERVING THE KING OF CATS

The impressive and distinctive lion is one of the largest big cat species in the world, exceeded only by some subspecies of tiger. Tales of the lion’s characteristic capacity for both extreme ferocity and exceptional gentleness have echoed throughout a surprisingly geographically broad spread of human histories and mythologies for centuries. The male lion’s position at the head of his pride has made him a symbol of leadership and a mascot for royalty of various denominations all over the world. He is considered, quite simply, the monarch of the animal kingdom. It’s the lion’s popularity as a species – leading to these historical depictions – that shows us how lion populations around the world have steadily declined, and in some cases, completely disappeared. The earliest Palaeolithicera cave paintings inside the Chauvet…

CONSERVING THE KING OF CATS

Head to head Lion Vs Tiger

Strength 7/10 While extremely strong, a single lion could only take down a small zebra without help from the pride. Aggression 9/10 When rivals meet, they can fight to the death. Competition is fierce, so males are in constant pursuit of power. Size 7/10 Lions weigh up to 250 kilograms (550 pounds). Living in prides allows them to be smaller than other big cats. Speed 8/10 A lion’s top speed is 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour in short bursts, racing after fast-moving prey. Brains 6/10 A lion’s brain weighs 240 grams (0.5 pounds), and contributes 0.1 per cent to the cat’s total body weight. Bite force 7/10 46 kilograms per square centimetre/650 pounds per square inch. Would they ever meet? Although they are closely related, lions live in Africa while tigers live in Asia. These big cats would never naturally meet as…

Head to head Lion Vs Tiger

Endangered Siberian tiger

Once one of the most numerous tiger on the planet, the magnificent Siberian tiger has been hunted by humans to the brink of extinction, reduced to less than 40 individuals at one point. Now, with protection in law, the population has recovered to around 500, but this is still under severe threat “Poaching continues unabated in Russia and China, causing 80 per cent of Siberian tiger deaths yearly” Threats to the species Poaching Despite being outlawed, poaching continues unabated in large parts of Russia and China, causing 80 per cent of known Siberian tiger deaths each year. The poachers keep hunting in order to sell the animal’s skin and organs, which both fetch high prices on the exotic animal black market. Habitat loss Consistent logging – both legal and illegal – as well as unbridled human…

Endangered Siberian tiger

TIGERS AND MAN A DEADLY RELATIONSHIP

At the beginning of the 20th century there were more than 100,000 tigers living in the wild, many of them prowling the temperate forests and grassy foothills of northern India and Nepal. This was where Jim Corbett was born on 25 July, 1875, in the British hill station of Nainital where his father was the postmaster. Every winter Corbett and his 12 siblings would spend months at the family’s cottage in the Himalayan foothills where young Corbett learned the names of every plant and creature, became an expert tracker and hunter, and developed a healthy obsession with the beauty and power of the tiger. In many ways, the life story of Jim Corbett — hunter, naturalist and conservationist — mirrors the much longer history of man’s relationship with tigers. Corbett began…

TIGERS AND MAN A DEADLY RELATIONSHIP

All About Leopards

Inside a leopard Leopards might be the smallest of the big cats, but they’re some of the most adaptable. With short legs, large paws and long tails, they are agile climbers and able to tackle prey several times their own body weight Closest family Closely related to the leopard are… Snow leopard Snow leopards are adapted to a cold environment, with stocky bodies, thick fur, and wide paws suited to walking on snow. Despite similarities in appearance, they’re more closely related to tigers than leopards. Tiger Tigers are the largest of the big cats and share many similarities with leopards. They live a solitary lifestyle, preferring to ambush, rather than chase their prey. They are strong swimmers, spending lots of time in the water Jaguar Jaguars are often confused with leopards, but their markings are quite different. Leopards have…

All About Leopards

SECRETS OF THE SNOW LEOPARD

Roaming the rugged mountains of central Asia, the snow leopard prowls with vigour and grace. A subtle and mysterious inhabitant of some of the harshest terrain on the continent, the feline is now regrettably synonymous with desperate conservation efforts, in yet another infamous fight against total extinction. A catastrophic mixture of poaching and habitat loss has whittled the cat’s numbers down to only 3,500 to 7,000 left in the wild. Dr. Rodney Jackson has over 30 years of experience studying and saving the beautiful creature. It hasn’t been easy, since this has involved working in the mountain ranges, mostly on foot and for months on end. “They live above 12,000 feet [3,660 metres],” he says. “The more cliffs there are, the better the snow leopards will love it, which brings real…

SECRETS OF THE SNOW LEOPARD

AMUR LEOPARD BACK FROM THE BRINK

In the far-east corner of Russia lives a rare leopard subspecies. It explores the snowy mountain forest in the dead of night, silently stalking wild boar. Its razor-sharp claws and fur camouflage make it the ideal predator, bringing down enormous sika deer by itself. Its legs are long to help it navigate through the snow and its dappled fur doubles in length as winter rolls in. This solitary hunter has been under threat for decades. Once roaming a vast landscape, surrounding areas have been lost to logging and farming. This left the leopard isolated in a small patch, surrounded by danger. Their numbers shrank to 25, a tiny population of related cats. Though the situation seemed bleak, conservation groups, researchers and government forces banded together to bring the cat back. Conservation strategies…

AMUR LEOPARD BACK FROM THE BRINK

The Sunda clouded leopard

Clouded leopards gained their name thanks to the large dark, irregular-shaped cloud-like spots they have on their pale-yellow to brown bodies. But since this helps them to blend into their forest environment, they have been rarely seen by humans in the wild. As such, most of our information about the clouded leopard has been gleaned from their behaviour in zoos, although a relatively recent discovery proved particularly startling. In 2007, it was confirmed that the clouded leopards on Borneo (and Sumatra) could be classed as a distinct species: the so-called Sunda clouded leopard. Fully grown, the larger males are 81 to 108 centimetres (32 to 43 inches) in length, excluding their tail and they have five-centimetre (two-inch)-long canine teeth inside a jaw that opens wider than any other cat. Proportionate to…

The Sunda clouded leopard

All About Jaguars

Survival of the fittest The spotted cats of the Amazon have specialised skills for survival, from retreating to the treetops to hunting what the weather brings These cats are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk. They can break this rule if they need to, and can be out and about at any time of the day. Like the average house cat, a jaguar spends the mid-morning and afternoon dozing. It curls up under thick vegetation for protection while the midday sun beats down. Though many people believe that jaguars regularly sleep in trees, they mostly only take to the canopy in times of flood. Jaguars rely on staying near water, as much of their prey is found along the riverbank, or even in the water itself. It’s also useful…

All About Jaguars

MYSTERIES OF THE PANTHER

Silently stalking prey in the dead of night, black panthers are among the most fearsome felines on Earth, with some of the strongest bites of all time. Their silky black fur is a result of melanism – a genetic condition creating the opposite of an albino animal. Unlike living without pigment, a panther’s dark fur doesn’t make it more recognisable. In fact, studies have shown that black panthers are better at sneaking up on prey, and some monkeys will ignore a big cat without its characteristic markings. With canine teeth measuring seven centimetres (three inches), this black beauty is the ultimate hunter of tropical jungles and will stop at nothing to kill. Panthers can swim, climb, pounce and bite to bring down prey, and hunt alone. Black panthers live in Africa…

MYSTERIES OF THE PANTHER

All About Cheetahs

Inside a cheetah Cheetahs are built for short bursts of speed. When pursuing prey, the cats can go from standing still to 64 kilometres (40 miles) per hour in just three strides, reaching a top speed of 97 kilometres (60 miles) per hour in three seconds Closest family Closely related to the cheetah are… How a cheetah hunts Formidable sprinters and epic predators, the cheetahs are at the top of their hunting game Cheetahs are frequent hunters and with an average kill rate of 50 per cent, they are rivalled only by wild dogs as Africa’s most successful predators. Their preferred prey animals are medium-sized antelope, ideally weighing less than 40 kilograms (88 pounds), equivalent to a large domestic dog. Unlike other hunters, cheetahs don’t selectively prey on weaker animals and the majority of their prey are…

All About Cheetahs

DOUBLE LIFE OF THE COUGAR

The mountain forests, sheltered swamps and vast desert planes of North America are dominated by the ultimate wild cat. The cougar – also known as the mountain lion – is the most widespread native mammal in the entire Western Hemisphere and can survive in almost any environment. This tenacity has led the continent’s largest cat down from the hillsides to bustling cities to take advantage of the available prey and human leftovers. Sightings of urban cougars are steadily increasing. After spending their days at rest in remote rural areas, they descend the slopes toward the town. Predators will always sniff out the areas with the most prey, and urban areas are bursting with coyotes, rodents and raccoons. Cougars prowl through the night on the hunt, able to evade any obstacle that…

DOUBLE LIFE OF THE COUGAR

SUPER SENSES OF WILD CATS LYNX

Cats are natural-born killers. Even the humblest, most home-loving of domestic moggies, like the one that may share your sofa, will never lose the ability to fend for itself, essentially becoming a feral force-ofnature if turned loose. Even when provided with food by their owners, cats never really quit their predatory ways. In fact, around the turn of the 20th century, one lighthouse keeper’s cat, named Tibbles, literally became the first single being to cause the extinction of another species – the Stephen’s Island Wren. As medium and big cat species scale up from our more familiar domestic felines, so do their abilities. There is one medium-sized cat, once native to Britain, which punches above its weight quite considerably and earned its position as a historical apex predator. The lynx is nature’s…

SUPER SENSES OF WILD CATS LYNX

Spotters’ guide Iberian lynx

Spain might be more well known for its nightlife than its wildlife, but that’s a gross injustice. Surrounded by sea and isolated from the rest of Europe when the Pyrenees rose, the Iberian Peninsula is host to lots of unique fauna - most notably the Iberian lynx. Once widespread over Spain, Portugal and France, one of Europe’s only native carnivores now resides only in the mountains of southwest Spain, limited to just two territories in Andalusia and pockets of forest in Portugal. Great efforts are being made to pull this cat back from the brink, including trying to boost local rabbit numbers (85 per cent of its diet). There are also captive breeding programmes and a raising of awareness of the cats on roads that run through their territory. Despite the fact…

Spotters’ guide Iberian lynx

Bornean bay cat

The Bornean bay cat is one of the world’s rarest felines It is rather telling that when scientists at Imperial College London captured footage of Borneo’s endemic wild bay cat, in 2013 they made an incredibly huge fuss of it. Rarely sighted and only photographed for the first time in 1998, these creatures are among the rarest of Earth. Only 12 specimens have ever been found and there could well as few as 2,500 cats in existence. Bornean bay cats are nocturnal creatures which prefer to live in the perfect hiding place of the island’s dense, tropical forests. All of this means we know little about them, except that they are the size of a domestic cat, have long tails and are either chestnut red or grey in colour, with both types…

Bornean bay cat

JOURNEY TO KENYA FOR A WILDLIFE ADVENTURE Travel expert Jarrod Kyte from Steppes Travel gives his insight as to why you should experience a trip to Kenya Picture Africa in your mind’s eye and chances are you will visualise the vast, acacia-dotted plains of the Masai Mara. It is a land so quintessentially African that you have to remind yourself it is real and not just a film set or an elaborate computer-generated image. The world’s greatest natural spectacle – the wildebeest migration – is Kenya’s must-see attraction, but it is no one trick pony. The majestic backdrop of Mount Kenya makes the Laikipia plateau a spectacular place for a safari while Samburu’s dramatic landscape, distinct wildlife and charismatic people are not to be missed. Top all this off with a week on…

All About African elephants

Anatomy of an African elephant As the largest living land animal, with a weight rivalling that of a family car, the elephant relies on several key adaptations to help it survive on the African plains Closest family Closely related to the African bush elephant are… Asian elephant The Asian elephant is smaller than its African cousin and generally weigh about a ton less. Despite their smaller size, the tusks are still highly sought after, resulting in illegal poaching. This has drastically reduced their numbers. Woolly mammoth Just like the African elephant, the woolly mammoth was a keystone species. When they died out at the end of the last ice age, the grasslands they inhabited were quickly overrun by vast birch forests, leading to huge, lethal forest fires. Hyrax These small mammals are some of the closest living relatives of…

All About African elephants

JOURNEY WITH GIRAFFES

Butterfly is standing tall, shrubs rubbing against her impressively large body as she searches for food among the African woodlands. Her eyes – the largest of all terrestrial animals – search the trees for the tastiest greenery, her eyelashes helping to protect against the sharp thorns as they rub against her face. The young giraffe follows the same routine: an early-morning feed on the shrubs, grass, fruit and twigs of trees, some time for ruminating and then a return for food before the Sun goes down in the evening. For Dr Julian Fennessy, executive director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), such scenes are a joy to watch. “In some areas, giraffes have more than 100 different types of plants that are part of their diet,” he says. “They’re a ruminant,…

JOURNEY WITH GIRAFFES

SAVING THE ICONIC RHINO

Battling extinction As poaching spirals out of control, conservation groups work tirelessly to keep rhinos from creeping closer than ever to extinction Of the 20 species of rhino that have ever existed, only five now remain. These horned mammals have been hunted throughout human history and have become an icon of conservation. Early humans butchered rhinos for their meat, and contributed to the extinction of the woolly rhino 10,000 years ago. As slow-breeding herbivores, rhinos have struggled to hang on to their position in the earth’s ecosystem as the pressure from humans has intensified. Not only have they been slain for their meat, hides and horns, but their habitat has been claimed for purposes such as farming, logging and development of settlements. Thankfully, the world is beginning to pay attention to the rhino’s…

SAVING THE ICONIC RHINO

ZEBRAS STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Zebras are loyal and feisty and their social bonds help them to survive against even the most challenging of predators. To an outside observer, the creatures all look quite similar, but there are actually three distinct species, each with its own unique appearance, habitat and lifestyle. The plains zebra dominates the African savannah, amassing in herds thousands of animals strong during the wet season. The larger Grevy’s zebra lives in the dry and dusty semi-deserts of Kenya, where groups travel for days on end in search of water. The portly little mountain zebras teeter in small clusters on hillsides, climbing to altitudes up to 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) above sea level. Marwell Wildlife, in the United Kingdom, breeds all three species and has been heavily involved in Grevy’s zebra conservation for…

ZEBRAS STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

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